


Trod Under

by HyperLion15



Series: The Guard [2]
Category: Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Supernatural Elements, The Guard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 20:48:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 49,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7522552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyperLion15/pseuds/HyperLion15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 2 to A Thousand More. After a month of training, Laura and Kirsch are on their way to mastering their new found powers when the gang attempts to retake what they have lost. After the death of their greatest enemy their fight still is not over as a certain immortal is reeking havoc both internally and in Styria. Laura enlists in the help of her friends to find the woman she loves and bring her home, but the Carmilla she knew is long gone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Am Death

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: hypertonic-rhythm 
> 
> Here we go guys! Part two of The Guard series starts now! This one will be shorter since mostly everything is already established plus I want to finish before I go back to school. I hope you enjoy!

Death sat under a decaying willow tree sharping her blade. The edge ran along her fingernails, scrapping away the old, revealing a new layer of silver flesh with a creeping sound that rattled bones. The rest of her skin was littered with dirt and grime, the earth had layered itself on her over the past month. The glare from the silver bounced into the sky as the metal continued to grind at Death’s hands. Draped in black Death was tattered, holes burned into the cloth and seams struggling to hold. Her arms the essence of filth had silver bands wrapped around her biceps that choked the muscles into place. A shadow covered Death’s face as she watched the birds soar above her. She rose from the ground, not bothering to dust herself off because there was nothing to keep clean. There was nothing to feel, nothing to be. Death didn’t discriminate. Death took as much as she could, knowing that nothing would fill her. She was after something but to get it, she had to become nothing. Death flung her obsidian staff across her shoulders, her arms folding over and pinning it to her muscles. The curved blade positioned at the end nearly spiraled into her chin was hot like the rest of her. White gauze wrapped around her eyes was for the world, no one would have to look into Death’s soul. The rest of Death’s bloody and scrapped face was exposed to the sun. She trudged forward in the muck with her gleaming scythe, embraced by vengeance with only the word, redemption.

 

* * *

 

 

            Kirsch dreamt of drowning. Nearly every night his breath would catch in throat, feeling himself suffocate as his dreams folded into nightmares. He didn’t speak much anymore. The joy fill wonder that once defined him escaped into the night. Silence became him. The half-elf believed with all his might that maybe if no sound escaped his mouth than he would feel closer to the man he once loved, Will. But like the vampire, his hope was gone. In its place, loathing festered and corrupted the once beautiful soul that was damaged by death. His hair had grown longer and his facial hair filled. The light in his eyes a dim flame as for a month he pushed himself to the limit. Kirsch didn’t see a point in all of this. If they retook The Guard’s outpost in Styria that wouldn’t change what happened. Maybe it would give him some peace but his life was full of grief.

            Laura was the opposite of Kirsch. She didn’t acknowledge the events that had transpired. Her denial was artificial strength that she knew wouldn’t last but for now it was enough. She needed to be enough for all of their sakes, especially Kirsch. She couldn’t get him to talk but she knew more of what he felt without any communication. The two were tethered together and she was hopeful they could do great things. If she pushed the destructive thoughts of what had happened to the people that they loved into the back of their mind it took the power away, they wouldn’t be able to hurt her. But still, everyone else saw how hurt she truly was no matter how many times she shook her head and exclaimed she was fine.

            Markus was the most worried for the pair. He saw a lifetime of mistakes and pain crammed into their unwilling bodies. He forced himself into their training, desperately praying to reconnect with his daughter but he was lost to the void growing inside her. The two trained hard and results were exceptional it’s just after they were shells of themselves. Danny was in the center of this train wreck. The werewolf reached out to Kirsch, knowing his pain better than anyone but the only time she saw glimpses of the man he used to be was when he woke up screaming in the middle of the night and she was the only one strong enough to hold him back to sleep. Danny comforted Lafontaine who was a zombie since Perry left. They didn’t know why she would just leave and they couldn’t find her, they all had searched for weeks. They started doubting themselves and felt like without The Nymph they would just wither away. Laura was equally untouchable and it just made Danny feel useless. A week ago she cut off a few inches of hair, hopping to knock off some dead weight and ease the knots in her neck. But she fell victim to being the only sane one in her group. Yes, she mourned the loss of a man who was kinder than words and she believed would be with her for the rest of her life but they all needed to move forward. Their new life required them to focus on what lied ahead of them, not obsess over the past.

            They elites sat around a campfire, the night before they were scheduled to leave the cove to make their way back to the compound which Vordenburg currently occupied with his fellow elf henchman. Kirsch leaned forward with his hands at his knees, watching the way people moved. He could notice the smallest of features in his associates, certain tells that would give them all away. It’s like he knew what they would say before they would say it. Danny rubbed her hand into his back, feeling the tension falter under her fingertips. From the light of the fire you could see the scar on her shoulder were an icicle impaled her. Lafontaine spoke softly with Dr. Damascus, the older woman trying to appeal to the warlock’s love of science. Markus and Dorian watched the open flame as Laura stared at the stars. A low pain ripped through her the moment she thought about a certain vampire who would enjoy this very scene. She tried not to indulge in the fact that Carmilla would be holding her impossibly close and how terribly she missed that comfort. But Laura breathed out, hoping that wherever she was, she was at least enjoying the stars.

            “We are all set to go for tomorrow morning, you all have come a long way in the past few weeks,” The Maverick was the first to speak. His greying hair exaggerated by the flames. The four had trained night and day and there was no doubt their siege would be successful tomorrow.

            “Yeah guys we are all proud of you. Laura, Kirsch, it’s incredible how far you have come,” Dorian smiled. It was insane how any man could keep his happiness and wear it so frequently the way that the Nix did. He was stuffed with joy and was the bright spot in everyone’s day.

            “After the siege, I am going after Carmilla,” Laura spoke abruptly, she lowered her eyes from the skyline directly into her father’s. There was little emotion on her face and everyone except for Kirsch was surprised. This was the first time Laura had said her name in a long time. The first time she let it eat at her soul.

            “I’m going with you,” Kirsch croaked. His mouth was dry despite drinking enough water to hydrate the ocean. He had this insatiable thirst and his body always heated like a volcano, every aching moment that he was awake. Those were the only words he had said all day and no one was surprised by that.

            “You’re not just going to let them go, right?” Danny questioned. She looked in the three leaders’ bodies who just shrugged. They know if they were put in that position they would do the same things. “Of course you are, well I’m going with you then.” Kirsch nodded then looked over at Danny. He felt something surge through him every time he looked at her, like an ache awakening inside him. The half-elf leaned over and slowly pressed his lips the height of her cheek bone, a rare sample of affection from him.

            “About Carmilla,” Markus began. Laura knew he must have withheld some information from them. “We have scouts all over the globe and no one has been able to find her.”

            “Well it’s Carmilla, it would be more dramatic of her if you could find her,” Danny rolled her eyes.

            “This is serious guys,” Ivory folded her arms in front of her chest. “When a member of The Chosen dies at the hands of another they take their power.”

            “Yeah we knew this with Nox, that’s why he could move the air and create lightning from his palms,” Laura felt a sharp pain on her upper back, over the scar where the electrons exited her body. There was matching set on the sole of her right foot. Sometimes she lay awake at night replaying the events that followed after that trauma. Everything was scattered memory, a blur of anger and bliss. She remembered feeling weightless, feeling free and the moment that it was over crumbling inside herself.

            “The rules are a little different when it comes to twins,” Markus continued. “The power is generally split between them in two extremes. You have the light, and then unfortunately you have the dark. Sometimes certain aspects spill over but they are clearly distinct from the moment of their duel creation.”

            “Let me guess, Carmilla was the dark?” Danny mocked. The broody creature was always dense and confined herself to shadows.

            “No she was the light; William was the dark one but he was durable.” Dorian watched the flames flicker before him. William Karnstein had mastered self-control and was able to move past all the suffering assigned to him at birth. He saw all the hate in the world but choose to reflect on the goodness. “Together twin chosen are more powerful than most if not all supernatural creatures. The point of there being two of them is so that one of them won’t be more powerful than the other and it allows them to contain their strength. Power like that needs balance and can be overwhelming. When one of them perishes the other is automatically cursed with the strength of the dead.”

            “Not to mention, Nox was also killed by the hands of Carmilla, therefore taking all the power he stored in him.” The Maverick took a deep breath before continuing. He had captivated the four students in front of him. “That would give her at least the souls of four members of the chosen and you saw what two did to Nox. The soul of her brother alone would be enough to drive her crazy so we have no idea what she is capable of. Carmilla Karnstein may be the strongest creature on this planet.”

            Laura felt her breath catch in her throat. The thought of Carmilla going full dark on her was not pleasing. She was probably unrecognizable. Laura knew the death toll that hung on her vampire’s head was enough to send her plummeting into hell. But her she was alone, god knows where with only the loaming thought of death on her mind. The souls must be consuming her, driving her crazy, slowly, to the point that she might not even know it’s happening. She shuddered at the notion of Carmilla, bottling all that up like she normally would until eventually it exploded. Ramped with the fact that it has been a month drove Laura mad. The human wanted to leave at that moment and run until she couldn’t breathe. She wanted the love of her life to return to her, to know that she wasn’t alone no matter what she was feeling. Laura would never understand what Carmilla was feeling.

            Kirsch put his hand in Laura’s. They both barely had a grasp on the reality set before them but knew that they would always have each other. It must have been the way Carmilla and Will felt, the past tense was harsh enough. Kirsch wanted to find Carmilla, for his own sake but mostly for hers. He didn’t want her to feel what he felt every waking moment of his life. The gang spoke in hushed tones over the fire, discussing plans for how exactly they were to approach this. They had to be careful since they currently had no intel on what happened to the life of the world’s most dangerous predator.

           

* * *

 

 

            Death fell to her knees in the center of a dark, misty clearing with her head tilted to look at the stars. Her hood swept down to the base of her neck and released her wild hair into the slow wind. Her scythe clang against the cold ground, emitting a rattling noise all around her. The bushes rustled as Death was greeted by four creatures who had all passed on. The first dropped in front of her, his raven hair and soft eyes staring through her. He huffed and cried out before crawling towards Death and wrapping his ghost around her. Two women followed close by, not wanting to believe what had become of Death. The last stood calmly by the edge of the tree with a wicked smile plastered on his face. William Karnstein, Matska Belmonde, Olivia Hollis, and Samson Young all originally did not welcome death and were forced into it but were glad to see her, minus the circumstances.

            “How is this possible?” Olivia asked. “The Holy Ground only allows one visitation per person.” Maddie shook her head, sensing the corruption in Death’s heart. Will could feel it too as he pressed Death against himself. A few tears rolled down Death’s face, smudging a trail of dirt.

            “She isn’t just one soul but a collection of many,” Samson spoke softly like he normally would. With his tan skin and dark hair, he wasn’t Nox in death but his former warlock self who was generous and intelligent. “It’s tearing her apart.” Death feared if anything worse than this was coming next. She wasn’t done yet.

            “I can feel it.” Death and everyone around her was stunned at the voice coming from the base of Will’s throat. It was full and kinder than expected and stunned the man himself. He pulled back and looked around. If he wasn’t already crying, he would have started at this moment. “Wow, I never thought this would happen.”

            “You sound lovely,” Matska pointed out. The vampire had put her hand on Will’s shoulder but watched with hesitant eyes as Death stood still as steel, anchored completely to the earth. “I have so many questions Carmilla, but I think the most pressing one is what the hell has happened to you?” Before Death could even momentarily think of anything to say Samson took her place. The warlock dared closer, wondering whether Death would show him any kindness since he was directly responsible for all three of the others’ deaths.

            “She has all of our powers buried so deep inside of her but they have started to leak out now.” He took a few steps until he was close within her space. Death was willing, Death gave new life. Samson’s fingers reached out to trace up Death’s face. She sat still as stone as he pulled down the white cloth covering her eyes. Death squeezed them tight. “It’s okay, it happened to me too. You don’t need to hide anything from the dead, we are at peace. You are not. Let us help.” Death showed them her truth. Will could feel his voice escape him again as he stared into his sister’s eyes. Her irises are now a flooded silver that spiraled into the abyss and outlined in a ring of black. Shards of white circled her oceans and for a moment Death was blinded by the light.

            “Carmilla you look like you’re dying,” Olivia spoke up. Death was silent. Death did not speak only watched the emotions spread across their faces as they tried not to react at all.

            “She feels like it too,” Will spoke for her. Their connection was still strong even now. He placed his hands in hers and increased the intensity. “She can feel her heart being ripped to shreds. She left with my body after I died, she left everyone behind. It’s too much.” Will pulled his hand back frantically as the darkness crept to him. He could sense her pain, feel it panging against his own heart. For a second he thought of Kirsch and Danny, wondering if they were okay and only for that moment he was angry that Death didn’t have any answers.

            “Samson is here, so they must be recuperating with the rest of The Guard,” Matska thought out loud. The former commander knew what her partners would be doing better than anyone. “They are most likely planning a siege on The Compound to get it back under our control.”

            “I was just a part of this,” the warlock began. “I was basically a rook and the rest of you were pawns. I know that I deserved far worse than death for the sins that I have committed. I have taken everything from all of you and I am sorry. Carmilla you put me out of my misery. The thing that I became is happening to you but don’t let it destroy you Carmilla. Fight it. It’s all you can do, just use it to take down the woman who used us all.”

            “Who would do such a thing?” Belmonde asked.

            “Mom…” Will spoke quietly. His own voice hitting him hard as he braced the weight of his words.

            “Mother is dead, Samson… Nox killed him!” Death taught Matska to forgive. Death could distinguish the two.

            “How could I? Think about it, she is a thousand times older than you Maddie and so much stronger than I was. She hated humans with a passion, that’s why she supported my plan to destroy them all. Lilith cooed me in and even got the elves to take you over. She wants to destroy everything so that she can truly rule and take whatever the hell it is that she wants.” The Commander didn’t know what to think. She was quiet, taking it all in. Trying to figure out what to do next. She was thinking like a leader when really she was just dead.

            “Who else knows about this?”

            “Not many, I doubt anyone in The Guard besides Vordenburg,” Samson took a deep breath. “Take her out Carmilla. It needs to be done. There needs to be balance.”

            “Balance!” Olivia exclaimed. “There is nothing balanced about having life jammed into you and having it shred you to pieces! You need to come up with a way to get things back to normal. Screw vengeance or revenge! Find a way to save yourself so you can save everyone else!”

            “There is no way that I know of,” Samson maintained his emotions. “I believe you can find a way to do both.” Death started to rise. They had all the information they needed. No need to stay any longer than necessary.

            “They will come for you Carmilla,” Maddie spoke in a nurtured tone. “Markus, Laura, Kirsch, Danny, all of them will come and find you Carmilla. They love you and they won’t just let you do this alone.” Death turned away and positioned the blood stain cloth back above her eyes.

            “Let them,” Will’s voice was dull and sonorous, however, it was the last words he was to speak that night. Even in death he was a man of few words. Death was giving. Death was kind and patient as three souls faded away from her. One stood strong and dignified behind her before running to catch up.

            “Wait!” Olivia Hollis pulled Death to face her. “You promised me you would keep my daughter safe and I see that that fight did not end with Samson’s death. Carmilla I know you are still in there… You have to be… Please just, you can stay away from her all you want but you need to watch over her, if anything happens to her I swear to god I will never speak to you again, no matter how many times you come here. I need you to keep them safe Carm… They care about you as much as we all do.” Death only nodded slowly before releasing the ghost’s grasp. Death walked freely into the night, heading straight to the heart of Styria. It was time to take back what was hers. Her life.

 

* * *

 

 

            Dorian watched Kirsch worriedly. The half-elf had aged so quickly over the last coming weeks and gained far more than what was expected of him. The Renegade wanted to train the half-Nix properly at his home in the Caribbean but couldn’t. It took all Ivory, Markus, and he could offer just to train Kirsch and Laura. There was no way the tribe could help him master all of his pent of strength as quickly as they did. But still, he wanted Kirsch to experience his birth right. He wanted this all to end even more. Kirsch sat in the sand, letting the tide soak his bare calloused feet. From his ankles to his quads, a white cloth was wrapped repeatedly around his legs and up into his tight navy shorts. His hooded cloak was the same dark blue with white embroidered stitching that held a tribal pattern down the front. The midnight shirt clung to his body so well and his hands were tapped up as well. The half-elf sat still watching the way the waves crashed into themselves, wondering if he was doing the same. The sun was just beginning to peak, being up this early was a habit he picked up from Laura. The Renegade plopped down right by him, letting the sand mush everywhere around him.

            “Sometimes I just want to run into the water and never leave,” Dorian huffed out his chest. “It just is so calm compared to everything else, so inviting and tempting. But outside of the water I have a life, people I love and my family who I miss and cherish. We all have impossible obstacles in our way sometimes that we forget to enjoy everything we have left. We torture ourselves to remember our past mistakes so we don’t forget how it felt to lose it all. The longer you hold onto this Kirsch the more it will destroy you.” The half-elf didn’t say anything but knew that Dorian was right. The Nix was hardly ever serious so he decided it would be better to listen.

            “Danny told me about what happened in the cave and what happened in the forest before then.” Kirsch looked at him and shook his head. He didn’t want to hear this. “I don’t blame you for wanting to kill your father, you were untrained and not fully in control. If I was in your position, I would do the same thing. I imagine your pain stems from Will’s death and the fact that he died instead of your father, but there is also the fact that he didn’t even know you existed. So you are doubting everything you believed in, not knowing the actual truth is worse than pure ignorance.” Kirsch didn’t want to think about his father. He didn’t want to think about how he disappointed his uncle and he sure damn well did not want to think about how desperately wanted to be home with his mother, baking pies and watching day time television.

            “There was a legend, a myth if you will about the brothers Rancor,” Dorian’s accent whisked the last word so nicely. “I didn’t believe it was true until I knew who your father was. But it was a tale I was told in my youth about a powerful bloodline that spawned two heirs both of equal strength. The brothers battled most of their life trying to outdo the other but ended up becoming polar opposites. One was too brash and arrogant, he valued his physic more than anything. The other was intelligent, used his mind to win battles and could find a million ways for success. Both had it all but one fell in love with a woman who loved the other. One quietly loved the woman, offering her the world in the shadows by doing everything he could for her. The other cared for the woman but was incapable of truly loving her and eventually became so obsessed with himself he grew crazy. Fearing the woman’s safety one of the brother’s got her away from the imploding man but when the woman vanished so did the rest of his sanity. Most of the elders have said that both man killed the other, some say the loving brother was killed and the hateful one was exiled. Until now I didn’t want to believe this story but it seems to be true.”

            “That being said Kirsch I know you want him dead, now more than ever. I’m sure you will find him but killing him won’t end your suffering. It will just make you like him.” Kirsch had enough of this. His mind was racing and soon the tide mimicked that. He got up on his feet, racing back into his room, hoping to truly rest.

            Laura dangled her feet over the edge of the roof. Headphones covered her ears and the sun made her skin glow. The human enjoyed the beats pumping into her body, there was nothing better to her than mumbling along with the lyrics. This was the slimmest form of happiness she could find as she twirled her short sword around in her hands. Laura felt the rhythm move through her like water. She enjoyed watching the sun rise and her body gleaming like gold. For a moment she dreamt of Carmilla, the way she would lay in head in the human’s lap and complain about being up so early. There was nothing she wanted more than the vampire next to her. The warmth that came off her body and just the feeling of them being together sent her over the moon. All she wanted was to have her back, she thought about it every day, praying that Carmilla who just show up completely unscathed but her dreams were naïve. She was so drawn into this fantasy to notice her father coming to sit right by her.

            “As much as I never wanted this life for you, I am very proud of how far you have come,” Markus spoke gently, not wanting to spook his daughter. Their strained relationship was becoming a balancing act. They both had been tip toeing around their bigger problems and Laura had a lot of unresolved anger.

            “I don’t think I could ever understand why you keep hiding things from me. You hid what happened to Mom, Carmilla and Will, and now what’s going on with Carmilla. I could have had a much better life with both of them still here with us. Instead I got a few months to get to know and enjoy them and now this whole in the center of my heart.” Laura could feel her voice start to croak. All this emotion released into bubbling tears in her eyes. “You keep saying that you wanted to protect me but this time was different. You knew that if you told me what’s happening to Carmilla that I’d leave, and Kirsch would follow which means Danny would too. And you need us for your plan to take back the compound. You’re still just so selfish.”

            “You were right; I didn’t tell you to keep you here,” Markus’ face was stern as he watched the sunrise. “You and Kirsch needed to train to control yourselves but you were wrong for the reasoning. We don’t rely on your help but appreciate it anyways, we don’t know where Carmilla is and you would have clearly acted irrationally. You didn’t have the patience you do now and if you went after her, everyone who went with you would have died. You love Carmilla and would do anything for her, but you can’t expect me to just let you self-destruct.” Laura swallowed hard. She knew she loved Carmilla will all that she could but couldn’t say it. Not now. Not when she was miles away probably destroying everything she could get her hands on.

            “I miss her Dad,” she whispered.

            “I know… we will get her back, I promise.” Laura didn’t know if she could believe anything her father said anymore. “We will be leaving soon and will make it to Styria in a couple of hours. You can lead if you wish, scope out from above. I’ll be commanding the flank and once we complete this siege we will decide on a leader. They want me to run The Guard. Dorian wants to get back to his family and Ivory wants to continue her research.”

            “They will pick you, you are the best choice they have right now.”

            “I want to make sure you are okay with this.”

            “Maddie would want this, so would Will and Mom so of course I am okay with it. All long as you are the right choice for this place and do what is right like you always do then I think you will be just fine.” Laura wiped away a few lingering tears from her eyes as she watched more and more people filter out of their rooms. She saw everyone she knew prepare for an intense battle and suddenly feared for all of their safeties. They were just normal compared to her, their lives were all in danger. She couldn’t understand why they would willingly do this, why they would follow them all into war. Laura say hopeful eyes stare at her and her father and they raised their weapons in respect. Soon they started to rile each other up and chanted out loud to their leader.

            “Time to go to work them,” Markus pushed himself off the edge and landed theatrically in front of all his students who then circled around him. He raised his massive sword in the air and they all followed him to the end of the cove. Laura stood on the edge of the roof, feeling the wind whip into her face. She sheathed her weapon and floated above the coast. The human watched the crowd grow and noticed Kirsch, Danny, and Laf near the front. They all looked up at Laura and nodded, pulling up their lower face masks to honor the dead who once wore this. Laura did the same, adorned in onyx and gold, then blasted off into the air. Her feet kicking nothing but a sonic boom let out into the air as she went sailing towards Styria.

 

* * *

 

 

            Death was at the gates of Hell with her scythe on her back in the dead of night. She trotted forward up to the iron and pressed the palms of her hands against it. The metal began to both twist and melt at the same time. The gate ripped open, the scathing noise was enough to wake everyone up in the surrounding area. Death stepped inside as men along the wall pointed their weapons at her back. Death raised her hands up above her head and stood in place, waiting patiently. Soon enough all the men poured out of the buildings and then sure enough the creepy old man Death had come to take. There proudly stood Vordenburg with his cult of pointed elves that contently wore his stamp on their foreheads. Theo Strata was at his right hand, happily leading a pack of fools to control this camp. They all had their mixed array of weapons armed to kill Death, an impossible feat.

            “Are you lost? Or do you seek something that we can aid you to retrieve?” The Baron spoke diplomatically as if his false position gave him power. The truth was the man was nothing and had accomplished nothing for his discriminatory master race that prided itself on hatred. Death was simple and pointed at Vordenburg. Bow strings were pulled back and multiple people dared closer to death with the tips of their place aimed at the space her heart used to be.

            “Carmilla Karnstein, is that you? You must be here for your sister? Or your mother? Unfortunately, I can only give you one.” He moved over to the side and fifty yards behind him dangling from a tree was the corpse of a former commander. A noose hung her neck, a dramatization after the fact only to enrage Death. But Death felt nothing but pain every moment she decided to breath and prolong her suffering. Death didn’t react the way he wanted her too, she wouldn’t give in, Death was calculated and cold. “Carmilla dear?” Death merrily shook her head.

            “I am Death,” her voice was labored and breathy. It physically tormented her to speak. “I am here for you.” Before the last word even hit their ears she was shoulder to shoulder with the high elf. Her scythe pressed against his neck and all she needed to do was pull upwards. Time slowed as she enjoyed his skin breaking and blood being drawn. By the time it was done, Death relaxed, claiming the only victim she needed. Death waited for a retaliation from his subordinates that threatened her life. She took a deep breath as her inner fury was released.

 

* * *

 

 

            The army was nearing close to The Compound when Markus smelled blood. It was tainted and rustic and bounced into the air to follow his nose. Laura saw her father’s haste from where she was hovering and pounced after him. They bounded forward and above the tree line as they saw a completely desolate Compound. There was nothing, no one outside or any sign of life. Laura and The Maverick landed in the center field and looked around to conclude there was no one around. The humans rushed to the front gate to see it had been torn apart. Laura called for the others who ran to their location. They entered into the place they once called home and looked around, everything was different. There were chunks blown out of buildings, scorch marks on the ground and everywhere else. The grass was either overgrown or burnt to a crisp. There were no signs of life not even a breeze and it reeked of despair.

            “What the hell?” Danny was baffled at everything she saw.

            “It’s empty,” Laf pointed out. Kirsch could feel the ground moving under his feet. There was something off about all of this and he knew Laura felt it too. Dorian lowered himself to the ground with his earth pressed into the dirt. First he heard the sound of running water, then the faint sounds of shuffling bodies and then chains. Old metal, rusty chains.

            “They are underground about a few hundreds of them or so. They are locked up in the dungeon.” Markus and Ivory ran into the lecture hall building. In the back of the largest room was an office that led unto the tunnel system under the campus. All of them filed into that building, most stood in the lecture room as dozen poured into the tunnel. Danny could smell the blood and then bile as they need closer to the cages. Kirsch pulled ahead of everyone when they reached the door way he drove his shoulder into the door. What they saw inside caused them to take a step back.

            “Oh my god!” A few of them yelled. Behind the bars were all of the coup participates were shackled, disgustingly filthy and most littered with deep gashes. They were all torn up, some struggling to breathe but were hastily bandage, some even having stitches. The elves all tried to break free when they saw people enter the room. Disgusted, a few had to leave. Theo Strata lay against the bar, his right leg gone and blood soaked bandages browning. He was sweating and no doubt had an infection. Ivory ran over to the gate to get him but Markus steadied her. That’s when they all saw it. Laura was horrified at what she saw in the corner of the room. A body pinned against the wall, bloody and deteriorating. On a spike lay Vordenburg’s head with his eyes open to watch all of his little elves in death. Above that, sprawled out in blood was the only word that could identify him, traitor.


	2. Reaper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: hypertonic-rhythm
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> Here is the next chapter! I hope to move this story along a lot quicker and will be shorter than the last. But anyways, leave a comment if you want to chat about the fic.

Laura wanted to run out of there. It reeked of pure death and the mangled flesh in the corner of the room was rotting from the inside. It was musty and the air was corrupt. It felt like she was shallowing blood as she stared at the goop trickling from Vordenburg’s head. The word traitor so clear against the concrete while they all were disgusted by the mess before them. The shackled prisoners start to clang, begging for release. Some of them screaming in agony. Markus let Ivory go to dismantle the lock and turned to Betty behind him.

            “Go get more people to help move them to the infirmary, we need to get them out of here now!” Dr. Damascus broke the lock with her hand and slammed the door open. The smell didn’t surprise her; she was used to things of this nature. They all filed in, picking up the nearest person to them, breaking their chains and carrying them out of that hell hole. Laura wouldn’t lie, the lower mask helped with the stench as she picked up an elf who used to give her dirty looks during training. It dawned on her that these people all hated her just for existing and yet her father was willing to save them. The Maverick wasn’t going to let them die. He lifted a big burly elf up from the soiled ground and led him out of there. If that man wasn’t crippled and most likely dying, he would do everything in his power to kill him. But becoming Commander meant that he had to make the tough choices not to appease everyone but to do what was right.

            Kirsch pulled Theo’s arm around his shoulder. The elf was missing a leg and needed the support now more than ever. Ivory grabbed his other side to hold him up right as the man bobbed in and out of consciousness. He was getting clammy as they maneuvered his body into the infirmary building which inside was dusty but chaotic now that Dr. Damascus was commanding as many healers as she could scramble up. They placed him on a bed as a doctor went back to work, hooking him up to machines and administering an IV. Everyone was running in an out of the building for fifteen minutes getting all of those people out of the dungeons. Ivory worked her way among hundreds of elves who all desperately needed her attention. She spared a few minutes with each trying to get them all stable but worked for hours. They all did, this required everyone to do something. All of them pitched in until everyone was stable. It was a miracle they were able to sustain all of them. All of them except for Theo, whose infection had slipped him into a coma. The lot of them all regrouped in the lecture hall, covered in blood. The quartet stood in the background, behind the infamous trio with vacant expressions, they couldn’t understand what the hell happened. They each had so many questions and knew the others must have more. Markus cleared his throat as he stood before the entire crowd. Next to him sat Enoch, an elf who suffered the least amount of injury and could answer some of the looming thoughts they all had.

            “I know today has not gone as we planned,” Markus started. “We are all equally stunned with what has transpired here in our home and it is clear that this event was clearly to end the coup and remove Vordenburg.” Laura shuddered at the thought of his violated body still being doing there. Her doe eyes were vacant. Someone should bury him. The man was awful but no one deserves to be left that way. They even buried Nox before leaving the cave.

            “By the scent and blood present in the dungeon, they have been down there for at least a week. I think that Enoch can either clarify or clear our suspensions of what happened.” The Maverick moved to the side, a small signal to let the elf speak.

            “When Vordenburg took over things were weird,” Enoch cleared his throat. The elf scratched at his ears were they were starting to scab over. “Everyone spoke in hushed tones and he always gave these speeches about wanting to make The Guard authentic again without ever explaining what he meant or how he was to achieve it. There were talks of leaving, of finding wherever you guys were but no one wanted him dead, not like this.”  The elf was starting to get choke up. “One night about a week ago, I don’t know there was no sunlight down there, we all heard the gate break. Everyone came outside with their weapons but it wasn’t a siege like Vordenburg was expecting it was just one woman.”

            “Who was it?” Laura called out abruptly. She had cut into what the elf was saying, which caused him to shake a little.

            “I was far away, I couldn’t see her face clearly but she covered her eyes. She was so pale, covered in dirt, and didn’t speak, she only said one thing. She called herself death and then sliced his head off with her blade like it was nothing. We didn’t even see it happen but it just did. Vordenburg knew her real name, but I can’t remember what it is that he said.”

            “Carmilla? Did he say Carmilla?” Kirsch put his hand on Laura, trying to steady her but she was rash. Every fiber in her being had to know if it was in fact Carmilla who had done this horrible thing to all of these people. She had to know if she had truly gone this far.

            “I think so.” Laura sank into herself. The human didn’t want it to be real, this only proves that Carmilla had fallen into the depths and torment of being a corrupted Chosen. Now she was something else entirely. Death, she so named it. “She didn’t attack us, we attacked her she just redirected all of our efforts into each other. It was like we did this to ourselves. She managed to incapacitate us. And I woke up a few hours later, chained in a cell like the rest of them. Vordenburg was already there when we woke up and everyone had been bandaged already. She would show up sometimes, give us water or food but it was just enough not to die. I don’t know where she would go but I imagine it wasn’t far from here.”

            “Do you know when was the last time she showed up?” Markus asked calmly. Everyone took in what he was saying. This was conformation that Carmilla had become a threat but not completely. She had no interest or desire in killing everyone just the ones who had taken someone from them.

            “No, but I assume a day or so,” Enoch ran a hand through his platinum hair.

            “Is there anything else, anything that you can remember or have seen that might have been different?” Dorian was soft and moved cautiously closer. He bent down to Enoch and tried to reassure him. Any information at all would have been helpful and it was obvious that he and many of the others had been traumatized by what had transpired over the course of a week.

            “Again, I don’t know much. Time was so slow down there but if you want to know what Vordenburg wanted to do I would ask Theo, he was the next in line authority wise. Or the man who would visit us from time to time, he kind of looked like you.” Heath Rancor no doubt. Kirsch noticed a pain in his chest the moment his biological father was even brought up in theory.

            “Thank you, that was really helpful,” Dorian smiled and moved to pat the elf gently on his back. Enoch looked afraid at all of them. He still didn’t know what they would do. Markus hadn’t made a statement about what they planned on doing to the traitors because that’s exactly what they did. They betrayed all of their classmates and followed an elf who claimed they were to redeem themselves. But the truth was they were taught to put their own above everyone else, that was a horrible way to think. Look at where it had gotten him.

            “Wait! Wait! There is one more thing! Vordenburg desecrated The Commanders body, he left her hanging from a tree for everyone to see at all times but now it’s gone. I hope that helps.”

            “It did, thank you,” Markus moved to reposition himself in front of the room.

            “Maverick?!” Someone in the stands called out. “What are you going to do with the elves?”

            “They took over the school they should be exile out!” A warlock in the middle stood up from their chair. “I mean we planned on taking them over again so what was the plan? Do we keep the people who stabbed us in the back! That’s insane! Who’s to say they won’t do it again!” His statement was met with a chorus of yeahs and a few people stood up with him. However, there were elves in the audience, people who had left behind their species to follow the guard. They were an example of people make their own choices not a general population. Enoch was startled by the chanting, shaking so harshly his body was practically vibrating. It was no doubt all the elves in the room were completely uncomfortable. Kirsch moved forward to the front of the room and slid his hand on Enoch’s shoulder. His kind exposed face had a glimmer of the man he used to be but that all soured when he looked at the crowd.

            “Quiet!” He yelled so loudly his voice practically boomed into people’s eardrums. His ocean blue eyes a tidal wave of disgust for the people who he cared for were going against who he was. An elf before anything else. Everyone was silent, sidetracked in their motions as this was the loudest the half-elf had ever been in his life. Kirsch looked over at Markus who just nodded. This had to continue, they had to let Kirsch let it out. Any talking at all was better than none. “Look around you. There are elves in this crowd, people who may know or people you may not, either way they were more than willing to fight with you today. And now you want to condemn their family, their friends. You heard from Enoch that they were planning on leaving but didn’t know how to or even where we were. If we didn’t show up when we did it is likely that they all would have died and I don’t know about you but after what I saw no one deserves to die that way. To be tortured and rot in a confined space like you are nothing. I don’t care if they hate me for being not enough like them, they shouldn’t be thrown to the wolves since that makes us the monsters.”  

            “Why do you support these traitors!?” Someone insignificant yelled.

            “I don’t. I support The Guard and what we stand for. Peace not bigotry. I know that some of them only have hate in their hearts but condemning all of them would send an unpleasant message back to a community who already distrusts us enough as it is. I don’t know the answer that is best for us but fuck any of you who are just as hateful as they are.” Kirsch remained a certain level of calm as he stormed out of the room. For some reason he wasn’t angry, he understood why people thought so negatively of elves. The species had proven time and time again that they were shifty but he wasn’t like that. He knew people who weren’t like that and admitting elves were like that was saying that his own mother was a horrible person which he grew to believe was the biggest lie imaginable.

            “We don’t know what we are going to do with the elves and have no plan as of yet. Please go back to your dorms and rest or you can go back and aid in the infirmary, they need all the help they can get.” Markus dismissed all of his students in the lecture hall. Danny went out the door looking for Kirsch. Laura held her head in her hands thinking only about one thing Carmilla. She thought about her smile, that real smile that was only reserved for her. The vampire’s playfulness, her dark tempting eyes and that incredible warmth. She didn’t want to believe that her love had become a tainted immortal. She did this to all those people, every elf that she saw that looked hacked away. Carmilla killed a man so easily. And then most likely left them all to die. Dorian pulled Laura to the side.

            “Meet us in Maddie’s chambers in fifteen minutes,” Dorian was always so well reserved. “It’s okay we will all talk this through,” He added. There was a giant weight pressing down on her and if she let it, she soon would be crushed under all of the crap that had piled up around her.

            Danny found Kirsch in the infirmary, Theo’s bedside to be exact. The half-elf had the elf’s cold hand in his own, listening to the clamor of half a dozen machines keeping him alive. Danny pulled up a chair next to Kirsch, admiring his profile but his eyes had gotten lighter as if he had aged exponentially. The beard also added a couple of years to him.

            “It’s not like you to swear, but then again it’s not like you to talk lately either. I don’t know what you are sometimes but I saw the real you in there, the Kirsch that I remember. The one who would stick up for his friends but more so for what is right.” Danny watched him meticulously. Kirsch nodded slowly before looking at her fully. He didn’t say anything but just the look in his eyes was meaningful enough.

            “I know that this past month has been awful, I’ve hated it just as much as you and I…” She started to strangle the tears from escaping but it was too much. “I miss him too… I wish he was here; he would know how to help you.” As Danny started to cry, Kirsch let go of Theo’s hand, the man who once tried to kill him and terrorized him, he stood up for. The half-elf wrapped his arms around Danny, taking the werewolf into him, letting her cry on his shoulders. She pulled back after a second. It wasn’t in her nature to be vulnerable, to let that vulnerability show but it was back breaking always having to be the strong one. To never crack because she spent so much time holding all of her friends up who were plummeting into their personal pits. But this was different. Kirsch ran a hand through her red hair, feeling it twine in his fingers.

            “I like your hair,” the half-elf whispered and instantly Danny’s pain dwindled. She smiled for the first time in days and almost started to chuckle. She felt a lot calmer in his hands. He was trying and she knew that today wasn’t a setback for him, rather improvement.

            “I like yours a little shorter but the beard is a nice touch.” Kirsch almost smiled and for a moment that was good enough. There was hope in his eyes and Danny didn’t feel like a failure. “We are going to be okay Kirsch. I promise we will move on.”

            “I don’t know if I want to.”

 

* * *

 

 

            Laura and Markus stood in The Commander’s old office. It was untouched since the coup and layered over in dust and grime. The leather and wooden furniture was exactly as Matska had left it. The menacing drapes and the apparent regal nature was both terrifying and demanding. Just how The Commander operated. Markus missed his closest friend now more than ever but he knew Maddie wouldn’t want him to waste time mourning, she would make fun of him if she could. Markus needed to take care of everyone and honor who she was by commanding The Guard like she would have wanted. He just wished she could be there to see him finally do this. The humans loitered around, looking briefly at the pictures of all the people Maddie loved on her desk and it struck a heartstring seeing an old picture of themselves.

            Dorian busted in with Danny, Kirsch, and Ivory following suit. The doctor was now in her old lab coat with dried splattered blood everywhere. She looked exhausted, as she should be since it was a tremendous effort saving all of those lives. Danny and Kirsch sat close together, sharing a chair the werewolf arched on an arm.

            “It seems that all 537 of the elves are stable, some even released but most will stay overnight. We need to make a decision by then but we won’t be able to get all the information we need from Theo realistically for a few days.” Dr. Damascus heaved her body into a chair. She felt stiff and anxious, her body thriving purely on adrenaline and itching to get back to work. However, for now she had to work with everyone to solidify a decision since there was no Commander to advise.

            “What the hell happened here?” Markus was baffled. “I can’t… No I don’t want to believe that this happened but it did and someone we knew caused this. Someone who should be treated like a threat to this campus.”

            “Markus…” Dorian groaned.

            “You know I am right. She hurt all those kids for no reason at all.”

            “We don’t know that,” Danny started. If this were two months ago, Danny would be the least likely person to take her side but time changes all. “We don’t know if she had a reason to or not and from what Enoch said she didn’t attack them, they came for her and the injuries they sustained were from each other.”

            “Yeah but what she did to Vordenburg was inexcusable. And propping his body like that was monstrous,” Laura felt dirty speaking against the woman she loved but Carmilla was gone. She was Death, something far worse than a monster.

            “I agree that killing anyone is awful but this murder is awfully grey.” Dorian crackled his knuckles before continuing. “Carmilla must have saw him as the direct reason for Maddie’s death. She did come back to kill him but seeing her sister’s body, decaying and swinging from a noose must have set her off. Now you all can lie to me or admit that you would have definitely killed him too. Setting his body like that on display was petty revenge and dramatic but its Carmilla’s style.”

            “How can you say that? For the love of god, she calls herself Death and we have no idea what else she has done,” Laura argued.

            “Yes, but she doesn’t just take lives endlessly like death would, she was here for a specific purpose, to take one life and then move on. She is not acting erratically like death would instead she’s composed like a reaper would be,” Dorian rebutted.

            “These are all just assumptions we barely now anything about her now. No information from any scouts, this is the first sighting in a month.” Markus refuted against his split small council.

            “Then why would she kill only the baron? And why would she take Maddie’s body?” Danny inserted.

            “Enoch and I checked the grounds and The Commander’s body is not here and we even checked the graveyard. No one has been buried there recently, the dirt looks like it hasn’t been touched in years. I think she took Maddie’s body and left, maybe she found something or needed to keep moving forward, whatever it was she must have needed Maddie for it.” Dorian rubbed at his temple trying to think of any answers he could. They all sat in a brief blanket of silence contemplating what exactly was going on. Laura wanted to believe that there was a reason for Carmilla to be acting so selfishly. That whatever this was had to be for something, that this wasn’t some simple revenge pact or the vampire wasn’t going crazy. Laura wanted to believe that things would be okay. That over some time she would come back to her and that they weren’t past a point of no return.

            “Will,” Kirsch whispered. Laura and Danny snapped his direction. Saying his name seemed sour in his mouth, like stale food. But he was relieved at the notion that he could. “She has Will’s body too.”

            “Maybe she buried them together, this way to have some sort of peace,” Ivory insisted.

            “If she did, then she would come find us. That would end her self-inflicted loathing and whatever mission she is on,” Markus finally sat in Belmonde’s chair. He was heavy, heavier than usual and it didn’t feel right. He didn’t deserve this.

            “It’s only been what a day or so since they last saw her,” the doctor continued. “We have to wait for Theo anyways so my theory is just as valid as with what you have come up with.”

            “Carmilla wouldn’t just kill aimlessly, she obviously has some plan or something that she is after.”

            “Don’t you get it!?” Laura erupted. “This isn’t Carmilla we are dealing with! This is something sinister and completely different! She killed Vordenburg, hung his body, and is in possession of two more! All we have been doing is waiting, we need to act!”

            “And where do you suppose we go?” Dorian asked simply. He wasn’t trying to invalidate her anger but understand it. It was good for Laura to be angry, she needed to feel something openly and this space wouldn’t try to defuse her. But Laura didn’t have an answer to his question. She didn’t have an answer for any of them.

            “We ask the dead,” Kirsch stared at Laura, pleading that she knew what he was trying to say with so little words. She nodded as the gears shifted, her mind was syncing together a plan.

            “What? What is it?” Markus inquired.

            “You want to go back there? I barely remember where it was.” Danny shook her head as Ivory, Dorian, and Markus had no clue as to what they were talking about.

            “Doesn’t matter, we will find it again,” Laura insisted.

            “Is someone going to tell us what you guys are talking about?” Dorian was the first to ask but no doubt the others had the same question on their minds.

            “The Holy Ground, we went there before finding Nox and Carmilla had mentioned that she had been there many times before to visit the dead,” Danny shared.

            “No way, that place is just a myth,” Markus remarked.

            “I saw Mom, Dad. When we were there she hugged me and we talked about everything. She was mad at you for the things you had done but she understood why you did it. She even threatened to haunt you. But it is real Dad. We were there and all saw people who helped us that day.” The Maverick shook his head. He couldn’t believe that maybe he would have the chance to see his wife again.

            “The point is, maybe Carmilla had gone back there, maybe she had asked Maddie or Will or even Laura’s mother for some information something, they must know something.” Danny drifted off deep into her own mind. Old man Hollis had already made his decision on what they were to do next. He took a deep breath and cleared his mind.

            “When Theo wakes up we will question him, see if he has anything to tell us or if the information will be useful. After that, we will authorize the three of you and Lafontaine to search for any clues or follow any threads we have about her. But you are to report back with your findings and will not engage. Do you understand?” They all nodded. “In the meantime, we need to rebuild and resume the regular activities here on campus.”

            “We will need to call all of the teams who are on missions back in, the scouts, and the council,” Ivory got up from her chair. She was done here and her skills were needed in the infirmary. “We need to get the message out about how to handle this situation and conveniently will be naming a new commander.” She quickly exited the office to return to her patients.

            “Markus I think it’s time you accept this,” Dorian started. “Tomorrow you will make a statement about what we are to do about the elves, it will be your first command as our sole leader.” The Renegade stood up from his chair and so did Danny and Kirsch. They all bowed quickly to The Maverick, a sign of respect and honor for their leader. Laura went forward and hugged her father. She knew this was the right thing for him. It gave him a purpose instead of an obsession like he had with Nox. Besides, The Guard needed a leader who would do what was in the best interest of everyone and could truly live up to Matska Belmonde’s legacy.

            The next morning Dorian and Ivory announced to everyone in the compound that Markus Hollis would be taking on as The Commander of The Guard. He received a standing ovation from everyone in the room and clapped in joy at becoming a student to another legendary guardsman. The Maverick preceded to tell them the decision he had made late that night. He struggled with finding a balance and didn’t fully believe in more chances but this is what Matska would have done. She was always better at making the hard decisions. Markus announced that the elves that wanted to stay, rebuild, and continue their training could stay, they would be pardoned of their crimes. Those who did not, who wanted to go home or leave, could do so without any consequences. There would be no room for malice toward other species here at The Guard, they would have to be a united front if they wanted to get through these hard times together. They would have to work hard to restore what was lost behind these walls but move forward for a stronger future. After his speech one hundred and forty elves left the compound, the rest were either too weak to leave or strong enough to admit they were wrong. Few of them came up to The Commander and personally apologized but he didn’t need to hear it, he already knew.

            After the speech, the gang went to the small cemetery in the back of the compound. They huddled around, all of them until they found the grave of Lilith Morgan. Next to her, Dorian and Kirsch dug two holes in equal size. In one they buried the bow of Commander Belmonde and in the other a throwing knife Lafontaine found in Will’s room, similar to the one they buried on the beach in Shadow’s cove. But this was different, this was their home and for now there weren’t any bodies but they were still put to rest here. This gave them all some level of peace, no matter how small, it was time to move forward. Kirsch collapsed to tears crying and so did Danny. They tried to comfort them but they only found solace in each other. This was merely an expression of all their pain leaving their body. The dead were dead, but not forgotten. It was time they honored that and continued their mission to save their friend who wasn’t. The one the dead cared for more than everyone else. Carmilla Karnstein.

 

* * *

 

 

            Slimy dirt stained the porcelain as it spiraled down the drain. The brown concoction falling off of Carmilla’s skin as water tried with all its might to cleanse her. No matter how hard she scrubbed, it didn’t feel like enough but still mountains of dirt retreated back into the earth. She let the water splash against her face and push the grime out of her hair. For a few minutes she was a soapy mess. The vampire hated the smell of coconut but the wash would have to do, she didn’t really have much of a choice.

            She struggled to look at her reflection, the steam had done a great job of distorting her already corrupt image as it is. However, it was still difficult to watch her bright pink flesh fade back into pale. The bags under her eyes, purplish bruises showing the fatigue that hung over her body. All of her muscles ached and looked like they were choking her skin. The worst of all she had to stare at her silver eyes while she brushed all the knots out of her hair. Carmilla pushed passed it, she had to if she was going to accomplish the one thing she had set on her mind. She had to get her life back. The immortal jumped into her leather pants and stepped into her boots, she threw on a blank tank top and let her hair dry against it. She felt the air electrify around her as her breathing stared to become labored. She gripped onto the sink, her hands almost cracking it and ripping it off the wall.

            “Come on… Come on!” She shook her head, finally looking herself fully. She looked gaunt, like a skeleton. And sometimes she felt like maybe she was just as mindless and just as dead. Maybe she had been this way all along. The tremors in her hands stopped shortly after and she was able to regain some of the composure she had left. Maybe this was all she would ever be.

            The floors creaked as she walked across. They bore no weight for quite some time that the noise was foreign to the walls around her. Water dripped a trail all the way to where she prepared herself some food. Something simple, she just need the nutrients to get by. She flipped on the television mindless, just to drown out the incessant noise filling her mind. She threw her plate to the side and increased the volume, this way the neighbors wouldn’t hear what she was doing. She searched a couple drawers, pulling out receipts and other paperwork, searching through until she found what she needed. She scrunched up the document and crumbled it into her back pocket. She pulled a rickety chair forward, scraping it against the wood. Carmilla sat down, using a knife to pick at the dirt that traveled under her fingernails.

            “If you answer my questions this will go smoothly,” the vampire crooked. Her voice was stiff like the rest of her body and rattled over to the guest Carmilla had tied to a chair. There sat an unfamiliar man who was cut up and roped in his mouth. He struggled against his contaminate, desperately wanting to leave but Carmilla had him trapped. He screamed into the threads but the muffled noise was heard by no one except the vampire sitting across from him. “First thing, name?” He continued yelling, hopelessly like it mattered what noise came from his throat. Carmilla waited patiently for a moment before the sound had becoming annoying enough. She slung her head down and slowly raised it back up, breathing in an out meticulously to control her anger but it wasn’t enough. Death flipped the switch into hyper drive. “I said speak!” Her voice was deep as she snapped out her arm, her fingers stretching close to the man’s lips. The air in his body was drawn out like a vacuum and into Death’s hands. She twitched slightly as the man gasped for air, but Death forced all of it out of his lungs. She held him there in this state until his lips began to turn blue and eyes began to bulge. When Death figured he had enough she released him. The man gagged for oxygen.

            “Jackson! My name is Jackson!” He muttered out as his tongue tasted the tangled rope. He was sweating heavily as Carmilla condensed before him.

            “Good, now tell me why the hell you were watching the Hollis household?” Jackson squirmed in his chair not willing to give an answer. Carmilla slowly moved her hand up to the man’s face again when her body began to vibrate.

            “Please! Please don’t!” His tears soaked into the rope as his whole body thrashed around hoping to release the bounds. Death switched it up, combusting the oxygen in her palm to radiate a dense flame that extended to Jackson’s neck. She held it closely, gripping it like a dagger. The man flinched as he already felt the heat evaporating his sweat. He shook his head back forth, pleading, begging but still didn’t speak. Death rushed forward and slammed her other hand against the center of his chest, burning it instantly. Death retreated as the man’s cries simmered into sobs and whispers of okay repeatedly.

            “He… he asked me to watch it.”

            “Who?”

            “Mr. Rancor, he said it was direct orders from the Dean.” Carmilla pushed back in her chair and let her boots tap against the hard wood. She pursed out her lips, letting something roll on her tongue. Jackson seethed in pain, his front incisors elongated. He bit down on the rope, attempting to cut it but his fangs were of no use. Carmilla shook her head, chuckling to herself watching him squirm.

            “I assume you are not new at this or Heath is just stupid enough to let such a lousy creature watch a house belonging to a decorated guardsman. Why did he send you here?”

            “He wanted to be alerted if anyone came through, he has hundreds of us watching different places, looking for any guardsman who may pose a threat to the Dean.” Carmilla quickly thought it through, they were obviously trying to gain intel on what Markus and his team were doing. She knew they were coming. She felt it in the air around her the moment they were headed in the compound’s direction from the secret cove. Carmilla had to get out of there, not for what she had done to Vordenburg or the elves, but she didn’t want to face them. She didn’t want them to see what she had become. Who she had become. But it didn’t matter. She left them proof of her corruption and a sharp pain fluttered in her chest the moment she thought about how Laura would react. She would no doubt see her as a monster. Good, she was becoming just that. She had to push the human away, off her trail if she were to succeed. Laura was insatiable, she became fixated and obsessive over any issues her small hands could grab a hold of and Carmilla didn’t want that to be her. Carmilla knew that it would just hurt her even more. But truthfully Carmilla didn’t know if she could ever face that woman.

            “Keep talking,” Carmilla muttered. She whipped out her knife again and tried to balance it on her fingers. She was taunting Jackson and it was working.

            “I don’t know! I don’t know much! They kept talking about twins… yeah they said they wanted the information on the twins but I swear you are the first person I saw and there hasn’t been any chatter the past couple of days!” Jackson squealed out. Carmilla’s eyes went wide when she deciphered what this meant.

            “What was to happen once he got this information!?” Death pulled on the other vampire’s collar. The man started weeping again, the tears and moans coming from his body only irritated Death further. “Tell me?!”

            “The assassins… they were going to send out a team of assassins to kill them… please that’s all I know, please, please don’t do this.” Death let go of the man and Carmilla rocked on her back heels.

            “Rancor really is such a fool, they will come and your scouts will find them. But your murder squad will lose, tragically. The only person who could kill the twins is Death and that won’t happen. Your boss is a fool but I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I’m not after him, I’m after the Dean. I have something else that I need to do first, that’s why I’m here.”

            “Why are you telling me this?” Jackson managed to spurt out.   

            “That’s up to you decide. I am either telling you this because someone will ask all about me and I want you to let them know that I know they are coming but they won’t stop me. I want you to tell them that whatever fantasy they have based on my return will never happen. Tell them to give up, convince them I am long gone. Or I am telling you because I am going to kill you.” On Carmilla’s hand spawned a thread of electricity that bounced all along her fingertips. It zapped back and forth between each digit and grew in intensity. Jackson screamed again, feeling the air around him heat significantly. “Now tell me, where is Heath?”


	3. Trespassing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: hypertonic-rhythm
> 
> Next chapter will be up on Monday, i hope you enjoy!

Over the course of four days, the compound had become the busiest of hives. Everyone had some level of work on their hands regardless of class. The forgers had to rebuild their shop that was damaged over the last month. Most of the guardsman worked construction, fixing the massive holes in the wall and buildings. A lot of work had to be done so everyone had some sort of commitment. The woodland creatures worked on beautifications, the land had become scared from so much mayhem, it had become time to breath a new life into this place. The healers were granted new machinery that busted during siege day and new shipments of medicine were to arrive any day. The healers had their hands busy with the rest of the elves who were recovery smoothly. Except for Theo who was still stagnate but when he was to wake up the forgers and Dr. Damascus were to fit him for a prosthetic regardless of his decision to stay or not. Laura was anxious, she was tired of waiting day by day. The longer they stood there the colder the trail to Carmilla. Every day she hoped to see that vampire wander back in and make some stupidly smooth comment. She dreamed of that day but it was just a fantasy at this point. She couldn’t wait for her knight to come swoop her away from this mess, instead she had to go out and find her. Still, every day she became more miserable in this place.

            Teams of five piled into the grounds, people that Laura had never seen before and the older students barely recognized. Warlocks, orcs, elves, ghouls, ifrits, phoenix, nymphs, werebeasts, and many other assorted species waltzed in and bowed before their new commander before lending a hand to the construction team. Scouts just appeared on the premise, they weren’t ones to make grand entrances. The teams working on high level missions sent two of their members to attend the coming ceremony, the rest needed to remain on these missions, mostly guarding diplomats or higher level politicians. The compound was the most packed anyone had seen in years. Every dorm was taken, even Laura’s who she rented out to some scouts. The human was currently staying in Danny’s room who was staying with Kirsch. The older students had singles but Kirsch couldn’t cope with being on his own. Laura couldn’t face going back in there, not alone, not when it reminded her of her failures. How could she stay in that place where she loved so freely? There were so many memories stuffed into that place that would drive the human crazy.

            Laura Hollis trained quietly in the back of the compound on one particular hot day. She hung the punching bag from the branch of a strong tree and went to work. She hit the sandbag with her taped up fists, trying different combos and extensions of her arms. Before she knew it she was sweating heavily but each punch was backed by the anger that festered in her heart. The pain of her mother. The pain of the man who killed her. The pain of the woman she loves so deeply was gone and had abandoned her. It was hard to distinguish the sweat from the tears falling from her face. Laura drove her right fist into the bag and forced the tree branch to snap and the bag to go sailing backwards into the old wall.

            “Remind me to never pick a fight with you,” a voice behind her spoke softly. Laura turned to see Lafontaine. The warlock looked exhausted and like there was nothing in the world that would cheer them up. Laura ushered them over and the two sat at the base of the tree.

            “How have you been?” Laura took a swig of her water.

            “I don’t know anymore. I don’t know how I can be here and not think about her every day.” The warlock looked up at the sky, and even the wispy clouds reminded them of Perry’s hair. Like Carmilla they had only one lead. A few of the elves had reported seeing her at the grounds one night but that was it. They didn’t know what she was doing there or where she had gone. But the elves all said she was there on her own accord. It settled Lafontaine a little to know at least she wasn’t being kidnapped or held against her will but more distressing at the same time. They had no idea what the hell Perry was up to but knew this wasn’t like her, at all.

            “I know what that’s like but we will be leaving soon. If Theo doesn’t wake up in two days, we will leave anyways.” They were quiet for a moment as they listened to the sounds of construction and people chatting. Markus was to give his speech the next night after his induction and Laura figured they were all excited.

            “Do you think Carmilla will know where she is?”

            “Maybe, but we don’t really know what either of them are doing. The way things work here I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they both were here. We will find Perry, I know it.” Laura gave Laf a reassuring smile but they both knew it was forced. They each wallowed, knowing how horrible this time was for the other. They both were in this together.

            “Something’s big is happening Laura, I can feel it.” The warlock took a deep breath. They felt cold and their normally bright orange hair would be vibrant but today they felt pitiful. Like the world was scrunching down onto their shoulders. “Whatever we know, we don’t have the big picture and things just don’t add up.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “You said that Nox mentioned there was someone else working behind the scenes, pulling everyone together to start this master plan to destroy everything. But we still don’t know who that is and why they are doing this. Maybe Carmilla or Perry had figured it out but… I went down to the library to see if there was any damage and there were a couple of books out. One of them was in English but the rest are in Sumerian.” Lafontaine pulled a list from her back pocket. There were handwritten notes and a bunch of symbols.

            “Carmilla knew Sumerian,” Laura whispered. The vampire had told her one afternoon when they lay together on her bed. The immortal had been whispering things in her ear in different languages she couldn’t recognize. It suddenly hit her she had no idea what she was saying.

            “There were a few pages ripped out of them and I wrote the titles down, I think Ivory or Dorian might know the language too. But the English one was a book on conjuring and had specific recipes. All there was, was a bunch of spells, rituals, and history of different tribes or people attempting some horrific magic.” Laura messed with her hair while deep in thought. Lafontaine watched her closely.

            “I don’t Laf, we have all these clues and a million more theories but it’s like we are missing a key to cypher.”

            “I know what you mean, hopefully we will get some answers soon. Listen, when I get a chance I will take this to someone and see if I can find out more. I just wanted to run this by you first.” Lafontaine brushed off their pants when they rose up and offered a hand to Laura.

            “Thanks for letting me know.” They were quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry about Perry.” Laura knew it wasn’t anyone’s fault, especially not Lafontaine’s. But it felt right to say it.

            “I’m sorry about Carmilla,” Lafontaine responded before leaving Laura to her own devices. The warlock waved at Danny and Kirsch who were making their way over to the small practice field the human occupied. The werewolf had her arm slung around the half-elf while he bobbed his head, listening to whatever it was that she was saying. Danny looked animated and Laura saw the skin covering Kirsch’s cheeks stretch upwards. They looked happy and had matching grey and black outfits. Laura couldn’t help but smile as they got closer to her.

            “Mind if we join?” Danny asked. “All this construction doesn’t give the same release as sparing.”

            “Yeah, yeah, yeah but you do realize I will kick your butt right?” Laura put up her fists to guard her face mockingly. For a moment she dove into the scene with Danny, playing around with her was enough to make her forget.

            “Oh it’s on,” Danny dropped her arm from Kirsch’s back. The half elf walked over to the shade and drank from the gallon of water he always lugged around. It commanded some out of the container and condensed the liquid into a spherical shape. He passed the ball back and forth from each hand as he watched the two circle each other. Danny was the first to throw a hand, of course she was. She was still the most headstrong but she acted playfully. The werewolf was once stronger than all of them but a lot has changed. Laura ducked out of the way giggling at the clumsy way Danny moved. She had just wanted to make the human laugh and boy was it working, for a moment.

            Laura stopped suddenly, her pupils constricting to take in more light as she saw something move in the distance behind the wall. Kirsch immediately stopped his movements when he noticed Laura stiffen. He hoped forward but Laura stuck her hand out.

            “Don’t act any different, don’t draw attention but there is someone watching us about a thousand feet back.” She put her hands back up and circled Danny some more. The werewolf had a worried look on her face but continued the charade. “Kirsch, go back to playing with the water. I will take care of it.” Kirsch nodded before walking over to the base of the straggly tree and sat at its base. He weaved droplets around his fingers methodically, trying not to look in the direction of the intruder. In a second, Laura bee lined into the air, directly above the wall and zagged quickly in a thousand-yard dash. Kirsch and Danny were left in a thick cloud of dust, Laura was getting better at not destroying the earth and a hell of a lot faster. In a second, she had rammed her shoulder into the enemy’s. The man flipped off the tree he was perched in and Laura grabbed onto his clothing. She forced her legs back and kicked off the oak, redirecting herself back to the compound.

            The human landed in the front center field, throwing the stranger into the ground. The people around stopped their work and stared at the human towering over the odd man. He huffed in the dirt and was pinned under Laura’s foot. The Maverick and Renegade ran over as soon as they heard the boom of Laura take off.

            “This guy was watching us from the tree line,” The man squirmed under the human’s boot as she informed them of what happened. “Is he one of our scouts?” Dorian shook his head as Markus lifted him to his feet.

            “Who are you?” The soon to be commander asked. The man let out a snide laugh and then barred his fresh fangs when Markus tightened his grip. The Maverick dragged the man inside the closest building and to a private room. The gang followed suit and the rest of the compound continued their work, hesitantly. He threw the intruder down onto a chair, if the man wanted to escape he would have to go through five intensely trained guardsmen.

            “I’m going to ask again since I am in a significantly good mood, who are you?” The stranger continued to laugh. His voice a mocking dull thud against all of them. Markus bent down in front of them while Laura crossed her arms.

            “I know you saw what he can do,” Laura looked over at Kirsch. “The human body is what like eighty percent water, just imagine all the things he could do to you.” The threat didn’t work as the man stayed silent. Laura looked over at her father who shook his head.

            “If you answer us we can let you leave,” Dorian spoke gently. “We know you must be watching us for someone who is most likely against us or just needed intel on what it is happening here. If you just give us this information we will let you go but if any of us catch you anywhere near here, you will die.” The man didn’t say anything he just watched all of them carefully. He stared at Laura, seeing her short fuse start to dwindle.

            “Long live The Dean,” he whispered before quickly pulling something out of his pocket. He moved to pop it into his mouth but Kirsch held out his hand abruptly. The half-elf’s veins popped out of his arm as he concentrated. The strange man went stiff, his face a pounding red as he started to shake. His extended hand was frozen as Kirsch felt his chest start to burn. The half-elf was commanding the water in the stranger’s system to halt. If he kept this up any longer the man who die. Luckily Markus tackled the vampire to the ground as blood rushed out of Kirsch’s nose. That was new.

            Danny rushed forward to wipe away at the blood ejecting himself from the half-elf’s face. Dorian helped pin the scout to the ground but the Maverick was able to get the man to still in his hands. He looked over at the Nix as the man struggled against him.

            “Get Yin in here, we are going to put him in the dungeon.”

 

* * *

 

 

            It wasn’t until later that night that Theodore Strata woke up from his brief coma. The healers on duty alerted Dr. Damascus as soon as his heart rate started to rise. By the time his eyes began to flutter the elf was surrounded by the healing team and five other guardsmen who needed information out of him. After the healing team settled him down the closest to him became Kirsch. The half-elf didn’t consider himself Theo’s friend, he barely thought of him as an acquaintance, but something in him was burning to forgive. Maybe that was something he picked up from William. The Maverick stood at the end of the bed, with Dorian advising next to him. The three ladies took to one side of his bed but tried to give the elf from space.

            “Am I dead?” Theo’s voice was raspy and like his mouth was full of cobwebs. It sounded like it pained him to speak and for a millisecond Laura felt bad for the elf. But then she remembered all the awful things the man had done out of false patriotism.

            “No, your vitals are good and should be good enough to leave in at least a day or so, we will have your prosthetic here in the morning,” Dr. Damascus read off of the chart in front of her. The elf reached down and felt the heavy bandages that patched his shortened hamstring. The phantom pain was enough to drive anyone crazy but just sent Theo a ton of memories at once about what happened to him. The intense hunger and thirst, the time passing so slowly that he can’t even place the order in which things happened. He was hit with the horrific smell and sight of his boss’s head watching him suffer at all hours. They were surprised the man didn’t go into shock right then and there, instead he looked over at Kirsch, remembering that the half-elf carried him out of there. He looked at The Maverick and The Renegade and wanted to run, he must be in big trouble.

            “When is my trial?” He asked, thinking that he was to be detained soon.

            “There won’t be a trail,” Markus spoke smoothly. “All of the coup participators are pardoned for their crimes against the realm. When you are released from the infirmary it is your choice if you want to stay or leave.” Theo nodded at his commander but didn’t understand why they were treating him so nicely. He didn’t deserve this, not after everything that he had done.

            “Why? Why are there no charges when we defied The Commander?” Theo shook his head, tears forming in his eyes. Kirsch took a deep breath, mellowing himself out. He had been amped since their encounter earlier with the scout and just needed to relax.

            “What you all went through was more than enough of a punishment,” Kirsch’s voice was powerful, he was starting to feel like his old self. “There was no need for charges, especially since most of the others didn’t want to live under Vordenburg’s rule. They were scared and did so because that what elves do; they care about each other first. I can’t watch them condemn us like we do them, it’s not fair to treat fire with fire.”

            “Wilson… I messed up,” Theo’s tone was rocky.

            “It’s fine, we just have a few questions for you. Some of the others have informed us about general info but you were closest to Vordenburg and would like to know your side of the story,” Kirsch added. Theo nodded slowly, letting the air rise in his chest wasn’t as painful as the tingling in his leg.

            “Why did Vordenburg initiate the coup?” Dorian asked first.

            “He told me it was what the elves deserved. We would have these meetings but us and a few others and he talked about how elves had lost their power in this world and that we needed to take it back. After the coup, it was clear though he was working for his best interests. He just wanted power and to be idolized.”

            “Do you know who he was working for?” Markus asked next. He figured there was no way that the elf would act alone, especially with so much at stake.

            “He never said,” Theo coughed a few times, the pain spread briefly to his chest. “There were only two visitors who we allowed in, one who Vordie had us all refer to as Mr. Rancor. He was intimidating and acted like he ran the place.” Everyone sort of gave Kirsch a slight glance and the half-elf could feel them looking but kept his eyes on Theo.

            “He’s not important, who else?” He asked.

            “The curly red head… Lola, except it wasn’t her.”

            “What do you mean?” Danny pressed.

            “You guys knew her better than anyone… I mean I just assumed she wasn’t always cold, strict, and kind of a bitch if I’m being honest. She talked down to Vordenburg like he was dirt and I thought nymphs were supposed to be happy and balanced but she wasn’t that at all.”

            “That doesn’t sound like Perry at all,” Ivory whispered. She spent a lot of her time mentoring both her and Lafontaine. Lola Perry cared about her patients so much it wasn’t even practically. Ivory always told her she had to be objective or else she would get too invested and eventually hurt. You couldn’t take the love out of Perry easily. This was something else.

            “Do you know anything about their master plan?” Markus asked, moving the conversation forward.

            “Not really… they just wanted us to turn a blind eye as The Guard to whatever it is they were doing or planning. Vordenburg wanted me to watch after all the elves and never let me sit in on their meetings but it was clear it was something big. He used his office as their meeting place so check there… I’m sorry I can’t think of anything else.”

            “That’s okay, we appreciate all that you have told us.” Markus spoke kindly to the elf. It normally wasn’t in his nature to be well nurturing. Laura and the people closest to him knew this the most but now he had to change. To be the Commander he had to be kinder to the people he wanted help from. Laura was vibrating on the side of the bed. She felt like she was going to explode, she had to know.

            “What about Carmilla? Did she say anything to you, anything at all?” The human was practically yelling.

            “Nothing, she never spoke just did this to me…” he held the end of his amputated leg. “After what we did to her sister, I knew Vordenburg had it coming. He didn’t see first-hand what you guys can do and I don’t blame her.” That surprised all of them there. Theo was the hateful type, the one who kept grudges. Kirsch thought he would still be mad about losing in their match but maybe almost dying caused a change of heart.

            “Are you sure?” Laura interrogated further. Theo nodded, not really willing to talk more about the woman who was responsible for his mutilation. Everyone could understand that.

            “Honey what is it?” Her father questioned. He could see his daughter was fidgeting more than usual. She had always had this extra energy flowing through her veins but this made her look anxious.

            “Nothing, it’s just that Lafontaine told me that they had found some books in the library about dark magic and thinks that Carmilla was down there trying to find something.”

            “How do they know it was Carmilla?” Danny asked. The werewolf had transitioned over to the opposite side of the bed to be closer to a particular half-elf.

            “They said that most of the books were written and Sumerian and that they couldn’t tell what was in it. I know Carmilla knows the language so it has to be her.”

            “What are you talking about?” Ivory furrowed her eyebrows. “All of my researchers know Latin and Sumerian, it is a requirement for getting the job. They have to since a lot of the research before the great divide is written in either one of those languages.” Laura looked stunned. Why the hell would Laf lie like that.

            “What… They said… Fuck!” Laura forced her hands up her head and into her hair. “We need to find Laf now!”

            “Why?”

            “Because Lafontaine knows whatever the hell it is that Carmilla is after!” It didn’t make sense, none of this. First Perry leaving, Carmilla not coming back, and now Lafontaine lying. Laf was right, something was changing, something was happening. Laura tried not to think about it as she scrambled out. Danny and Kirsch exited the room chasing after her. Together they checked all of the buildings Lafontaine would be in, the library, lecture hall, their own room. The warlock was nowhere to be found. Danny found their room empty, most of their things still there but no sign of Laf at all. The room didn’t even smell like them anymore. Kirsch swept through the outer grounds and still there was nothing. In the dark of night, he couldn’t find any tracks that were definitely theirs, people had been trekking in and out of the immediate area. Laura scoured the library. There was nothing, not even a book out of place and none of this made sense. All they were left with were a million questions and still not a clue about what the hell was going on. They trudged back to the infirmary, defeated, and met with the others in the front entrance.

            “There is no sign of them,” Danny huffed. “I checked their room and other adjacent buildings.  They’re gone.”

            “I don’t understand,” Laura started. “Where the hell would they go?” Markus lowered his hands to his hips in front of his daughter. He had a lot on his mind and right now did not know how to deal with this entire situation.

            “They went after Carmilla, if they knew whatever is it that she is doing the logical response would be to tell someone. Since they didn’t we can assume that Lafontaine went to go help whatever the hell it is Carmilla is planning to do.” That was the only thing that could make sense to the Maverick. He knew this warlock to be strategic but only operate in the best interest of everyone else.

            “Laf wouldn’t do something that is wrong,” Dr. Damascus put in her two cents. “They must have found something that convinced them to leave, whatever it is probably appeals to the mad scientist in them.”

            “We should leave, go after them.” Kirsch scratched eagerly at his beard. Laura and Danny nodded, more than willing to go that very moment to find their friend.

            “I can’t grant your leave until after the induction,” Markus shook his head. “I have to now announce three missing students and plus whatever information we get from the vampire that isn’t talking. Just give me the day, you guys can prep beforehand and then leave after.” All Laura did was wait at this point. She just wanted to go save her friends because this had become her responsibility. In reality this was all her fault. It started with her and she swore it would end with her too.

 

* * *

 

 

            The council of elders stood before the center field of the compound in a semi-circle around a knelt Markus Hollis. The human had his massive sword, dug upright into the earth and held the golden handle so tight his knuckles gleamed white. He was dressed in teal and gold, crisp armor, and hung his head into the earth. He was surrounded by more people than Laura could count, standing all around him. There was a burning fire that was only light source as almost the entirety of The Guard was watching Markus become the leader he was destined to be. Most of the people who watched either knew him or idolized him as a hero that they all grew up with. Either way they knew that he would be the best one for the job.

            “Markus Hollis? Will you follow the law to the letter and authorize support and protection to communities in need regardless of circumstance?” An older woman spoke kindly as she looked carefully over the ground.

            “I will,” The Maverick’s voice boomed so the entire crowd could hear him comply. The fire sparked next to him as another elder stepped forward.

            “Will you ensure the safety of all the students training under you and respect your fellow guardsmen?”

            “I will.” Again the fire rose and started to flicker shards of gold. Another elder stood forward withdrawing a knife from his robes. The elder beckoned the fearless leader forward.

            “Will you do all that you can to keep peace on all lands and for the general prosperity of the realm?”

            “I will.”

            “Markus Hollis, do you accept these terms as Commander of the Guard?”

            “I do.” The Maverick held out his hand as the elder sliced open a portion of his palm. The blood that trickled out went straight into the fire, which roared great, illuminating all of the people watching in the crowd and tethering him to this place he promised to make prosper. This was his home now. This was his responsibility.

            “Guardsmen, I present to you your newest Commander, Markus Hollis!” There was a thunderous applause that exploded all around him. People cheering, people clapping, those excited for change. Overall they were joyous that this place was going to get back to normal. The Maverick plucked his sword from the earth and whipped it onto his back with a clang. He looked over at all the people and was honored to serve them all. The knelt to the floor, simultaneously waiting for him to give his speech. This was all of them showing their support and respect for their leader.

            “It will be an honor to lead you all back into an age of greatness for this institution.” There was more hollering and heckling since after this there was to be a celebration that would leave most of the guardsman hungover as they leave for their missions in the morning. “You have all been gathered back to the compound for my induction but unfortunately there are more important matters and information that needed to get out there. We have always suffered greatly whenever we lose guardsmen to this life, but whenever we have the opportunity to bring them back we must do all that we can. Three of our students have gone missing, one in the last twenty-four hours and two have been spotted in this very compound when it was not under our control. Carmilla Karnstein and Lola Perry currently will be treated as Class 2 people of interest, if any of you find or obtain any information on their whereabouts or plans you are to report back to us immediately. Many of you are aware the trespasser we encountered yesterday and so far we have struggled to claim any information from him but we will continue our efforts. In the meantime, I have commissioned a team of three to follow the threads and then come back here so we can discover our next step together. It is important that no one engage these suspects, you have all seen the damage one has already caused. We need to act carefully on this matter and I advise you not to worry. All of this will be handled and we will proceed as normal here at The Guard. Now, I think it is time we start looking towards the future so that we can all ensure the safety of all that live in this realm. Thank you.” The Maverick bowed to his students who went nuts in applause. Now it was time to party, but it was also time for Laura and her friends to leave. They had waited long enough.

            “Wait!” A voice called out to a cloaked Laura, Danny, and Kirsch. They were all armed to the teeth potentially ready for a war. The human turned around to see two surprising figures calling out to them. An elf with a slight limp waddled towards them and a brown woman who Laura never even thought would want to share the same space as her again.

            “We want to go with you,” Mel spoke first. She was wearing a dark green jacket and equipped with a lot of arrows. She was ready to leave. Laura looked at Theo who was freshly released from the infirmary with a metal composite lower limb prosthetic that honestly looked beautiful. It was a matte black and formed of several intricate pieces. The elf had a packed backpack and a traditional guardsmen uniform.

            “Listen I know I’m not a hundred percent back in shape but I can pick up on this thing fast and heal myself.” Kirsch couldn’t understand his motives. This was the man who wanted to slaughter the half-elf for no reason other than he could.

            “Why?”

            “Traditionally teams are five and well I think you could use us,” Mel insisted. “Besides, this is the right thing to do, we can’t just sit here and wait around for you guys to come back.”

            “We want to do the right thing. I want to do the right thing after being on the wrong side this entire time and look at where it got me. I want to make up for my wrongs Kirsch, I owe you this, please you guys can benefit from our help.”

            “I don’t know, it will slow us down,” Danny mentioned. She was the most suspicious of these people who generally don’t like them. They would hold them up since they couldn’t move as quickly. Laura and Kirsch didn’t know what to think about this either, it seemed rushed and out of the blue.

            “You don’t know where they are or what they are doing but are concerned about us slowing you down?” Mel retorted.

            “We have a lead and need to move as quickly as possible,” Laura refuted.

            “We can keep up,” Theo responded. He knew that realistically he couldn’t but this felt right. He wanted to do this and so did Mel but he knew that they both would have to walk on eggshells. It would take a while to gain back their trust but it was worth it. Laura looked over at Danny and Kirsch who just both shrugged. There wasn’t much danger associated with this mission anyways, they were just doing some recon.

            “Fine, you can come but we are leaving now.” The five of them had a silent exchange, quiet understanding that this was actually happening. As the festivities around them commenced then strolled over to the newest iron gate. A guardsman opened it for them as the team filed out into the woods. Laura stared up at the night sky, wondering where the hell Carmilla was and hoping that she knew they were coming to bring her home. What the five of them couldn’t see was more scouts hiding in the distance, watching intensely, and signaling others they were on the move.

 

* * *

 

 

            Carmilla Karnstein buried her face behind a hoodie in the dead of night. There were currently no stars in the vicinity and that was a damn shame. There was barely any light as she walked down the aisle of graves with a shovel behind her neck. She stopped short for a moment, feeling a breeze pick at the small hairs on her body. A voice in her head told her to run, another said to burn everything that crossed her path. She had a lot of voices trampling her these days and it made her ache. All these competing views stomping her brain to mush. The immortal threw down her shovel, falling to her knees, and writhing in pain with her head in her hands. She stopped after a moment, her eyes a shiny silver floating in her irises.

            “What the hell are you doing here?” The vampire dared not to turn around. There was no one behind her but she felt the presence of someone for the last fifteen minutes. She only spoke when they got dangerously close. Suddenly the ground shook for a few seconds and the dirt became a misty cloud. Carmilla already knew who it was without even seeing their short red hair.

            “I came to help,” they spoke gently, not like they were afraid of Carmilla, rather they didn’t know fully how to approach. Carmilla squeezed her eyes as the voices continued.

            “Who knows you are here?”

            “No one, I mean they must have known I left by now, but I didn’t tell anyone where I was going.” The warlock had their axe strapped to their back. They moved slowly until they were a more comfortable distance away from Carmilla. They wanted to get closer, maybe comfort their friend but knew the immortal wouldn’t want that.

            “Then why the hell come?” The vampire felt like she was in enough control to stand. The vertebra on her back snapped into place and it was a relief. Hesitantly they turned to Lafontaine but the space was so dimly lit they couldn’t see the immortal’s full face.

            “I saw the books you were looking at in the library. If you really want to do this, to rid yourself of all that pain, I think I can help.” Carmilla lit the base of her palm to become the only light source between them. At that moment, the warlock truly saw the pain, the way it riddled her face and made her eyes glow. Lafontaine wasn’t surprised that it all had changed her. It would be harder to believe that it didn’t but deep down Laf could see how afraid the vampire was. Carmilla was afraid of hurting Lafontaine, of ruining everything she had left any further. Right now she couldn’t think about that, she had to get back to herself first before she sought redemption.

            “No one can help me.”           

            “You are trying to attempt some serious magic Carmilla and I know it’s been a while but there is no way you can just do that on your own.”

            “You know nothing!” Carmilla moved to trying push Laf away. It was a much easier technique than dealing with them.

            “Oh yeah, well have you thought about tapping into the magic remnants left at any sanctuary. It would definitely decrease the large risk of this stuff killing you Carmilla! If this is what you truly want, then you should be around to enjoy it! It will all be meaningless if you die and you know your girlfriend would kill me! By the way I had to lie to her so I could come here and I know she is on your trail anyways I just gave you a few extra days.” Carmilla hung her head. Her heart hurt at the mention of Laura.

            “I don’t understand why though, why the fuck are you here to help me?”

            “What you are attempting has never been done before with perfect results. I figure if we are going to do this we do it right or it would be truly awful to mess with them like that. I can help you, you need me Carmilla. Besides after we do this, you can help me find Perry.” The immortal thought about being snarky, thought about sassing Lafontaine for even trying. But, Carmilla understood that level of love. If their situations had been reversed and if Laura was the one who left, Carmilla would have scoured the earth trying to find her. She would have gone crazy. The vampire thought about it for a moment. She believed that part of her become Death but didn’t want to succumb to that fully. She wanted her life back, all the things that she loved back, but she wasn’t coming back without them.

            “I have a location for Heath and he will no doubt lead us to Perry like he did Nox. But first you do your magic bullshit to help me with this grave.” The warlock nodded.

            “So I have a theory about who we are getting but I’ll just keep it to myself for dramatic affect.” Carmilla scoffed, lighting the way as the duo walked down the rows of the cemetery.


	4. Intersection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: hypertonic-rhythm
> 
> Sorry this is a little late guys, i had a busy weekend. I hope you enjoy!

There was nothing Laura loved more than flying. Okay there was one thing but that thing was tearing her apart every time she thought of it so flight became a distraction. The wind whipping past her face, her hair blowing backwards, it was the ultimate stress release. The air felt so good, it felt so right to be so high up. Laura’s job was recon. Her increased sight range aided to see about a mile ahead of where her teammates were walking. Thankfully there was no one around so she could fly freely, like the eagle she was destined to be. Kirsch strafed atop a steady stream while simultaneously commanding another under Theo’s feet. After a few impressive hours the elf couldn’t keep up anymore and they weren’t just going to leave him behind. The only other option was to let Theo ride on the werewolf’s back but Danny would have definitely killed them. Instead, Kirsch let him surf with him. Luckily they were in a dense forest so Mel could bounce between all of the trees. The Diwata could feel any disturbance in the nature around them. They had to be extra careful on this mission or else they would be sorry.

            They had made it the whole day without any encounters. Laura thought it would be time to find a cave, settle down for the night. They could make it to the holy ground by this time tomorrow and her mind was starting to become preoccupied by the lists forming in her head. There was so much to think about, so many angles that this could branch out, this story was madding enough. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something, a group of somethings moving towards them and she knew they saw her too. She plummeted quickly, her descent startling everyone.

            “Someone’s coming,” she halted everyone’s movements completely. Mel stepped out of the tree line and immediately retracted her arrow in her bow string. Danny snarled, still in her wolf form, and lowered herself in front of Laura. Kirsch stopped his water flow and retracted it into the thin container on his lower back. He stepped in front of Theo who hobbled forward. Laura kept her weapon sheathed, they could get through this without violence. In a few seconds a dozen men in masks appeared ahead of them. But Laura could feel at least a dozen more surrounding them. They each had a different animal as a white mask mounted on their face and the obvious leader had the head of a ram.

            “What do you want?” Laura was the first to speak.

            “We simply are just passing through,” the ram spoke with his chest huffed out. He crossed his arms at his waist and watch creepily.

            “Then why are there fifteen more of you all around us,” Mel spoke fiercely. Theo looked around, he was the only one who couldn’t see nor feel the presence of more. To him they were outnumbered, twenty-seven to five. But then again, Theo wasn’t there to see their progress and he had no idea what they could do. Laura positioned herself defensively, absentmindedly running her hand through Danny’s mane.

            “We have our orders, you have yours, I think it would be best if we didn’t make this unpleasant.” The leader rose his hands up to the fellows around him, steadying them. Kirsch closed his eyes, feeling the water shake in the container strapped to his back. There wasn’t another water source nearby so he would be limited. He needed to make this quick before things got out of hand. The half-elf’s trident was condensed on his right hip, by the time he got to it someone would notice what is up.

Laura glanced at him, feeling his anger as he closed his eyes. Four on the left, six on the right, twelve ahead, and five behind. The human counted them all and took a deep breath before the leader lowered his hands. Laura closed her eyes, feeling more in tune with Kirsch this way. The light was at her fingertips and the darkness was buried in his chest as the first animal took another step in their direction.

Twenty-seven. Laura spun on her back heel with a speed no one could match anymore. She moved swiftly, gently brushing up the dirt in a semi-circle and threw her hands out powerfully to the side. The human continued to spin as a great wind was expulsed from her being and around the five of them. The force knocked all of creatures backwards, farther away from them as Kirsch whipped out his obsidian trident and stuffed the end unto the earth. He bowed his head as the enemies made contact with the ground. Two of them smashed their heads into tree bases as the half-elf prayed, not to a god but to the dead, one member in particular.

Twenty-five. Kirsch launched forward, throwing his trident out in front of him, twisting and slashing through one of them. He slid down against the earth, his back barely hovering against the ground as two streams of pressurized liquid flowed from behind him, hitting two in the gut. He rose to his feet, in the center of a dozen men dressed in black. They rushed him but were sloths in comparison as the half elf threw one foot outward and a hand in the other direction. Kirsch retracted, spinning his extended arm to toss his stream of water that ponged between two of them. With his feet now buried in the soil the Nix slammed his palms into the dirt, solidifying any water around him. The duel streams becoming sharp icicles and sweat turned to needles piercing into skin.

Sixteen. Laura went on a full assault on the six on the right. She pounced to the nearest tree, using a branch to swing herself closer, feet first. Her toes made contact with a man’s chest and air rushed to fill the gap between them. The hooded creature went soaring backwards, breaking trunks in its tracks. Laura bounced as her back landed on the ground and kicked up her legs to roll and spin unto her hands. The human’s hands kept her torso steady as her hips and legs rotated around in a circle. The air weaved between her legs as she snapped upwards, the momentum still causing her to spin until she planted firmly on the ground. All the air focused into a funnel pulsed forcefully in one direction, sending multiple men high into the air.

Nine. Kirsch had crushed one’s windpipe with the water on the palm on his hand when he locked eyes with Laura. Together they looked menacing with their half covered faces and cloaked bodies. They simply just nodded to each other, knowing they needed to get this over with. Laura ran, just as an elephant tried to slice at her, but the human was so swift she was gone in an instant. Kirsch propelled himself up into the air, his water keeping steady following him and arching under his feet. The liquid instinctually trailed him without even a thought and positioned itself to cushion his feet once he landed. The half-elf hit the ground, rolling unto his back. The moment he arched his body into the air, he released all the water left in his container and a certain human pushed herself into the air above him. The moment Laura crossed his path, she expelled all the air from her being. Together their attacks flowed in every direction, knocking them all out except for one.

Danny lowered herself until she was laying on the grass. The wolf spread her paws out in front of a very astonished Theo and Mel. To the young werewolf this was nothing, she had seen them produce much more devastation than this in the last month, in fact, Laura hadn’t even broken a sweat. Kirsch stood in front of the leader in the ram mask whose arms were bound to a branch by unbreakable ice.

“Talk,” Laura whispered. This man was nothing without his army and Laura knew he would give in, eventually.

“A question would be nice,” his voice thick with malice and spite. Laura didn’t have time for this so she flung out her beautifully crafted sword. The short metal glowed in the setting sunlight and the gold fitted handle contrasted her tan skin. She shifted the weapon into place, pointing it at the man’s neck but the blade was a few inches short. The human focused her energy to pressurize the air to form a longer, invisible tip that barely nicked his flesh. Laura gave him a slight smirk as her blade buzzed with air.

“Whoa,” Theo let slip. He looked over at Mel with big eyes. “Okay that was totally awesome, I mean you went here and then boom and Kirsch did that thing and it was over in like a minute.” Theo’s spiel was accompanied with sound affects but Danny growled to get him to shut up. He gulped, knowing that Danny could do just as much damage as he had just witnessed.

“Who sent you?” Laura had turned her attention back to the man clasped to the tree. The man squirmed underneath her blade.

            “Heath Rancor! We had received word from the scouts that you were on the move!”

            “So he sent you her to kill us?” Mel stepped forward and touched Laura’s shoulder. The human lowered her blade after the kind exchanged from the Diwata. She kept walking forward until she could touch the root of the strong oak the man was up against. Slowly the trunk started to move, the bark inching around the ram’s torso, moving to swallow him whole. Kirsch withdrew his water as only the man’s head, wrists, and certain parts of his chest were exposed. The leader was rendered useless, unable to break the grasp of the living wood.

            “No, please, don’t kill me!” The ram headed man begged, practically whimpering for his life.

            “Answer the question!” Laura’s voice echoed across the forest floor. Her threat was empty of course, she had no interest for taking this man’s life. She has morals that she plans to stick by for as long as she can. To Laura, he did not deserve to die. He was only following through with their orders, same as them. But the man didn’t know that. In fact, it provided great satisfaction to see him terrified.

            “No, no, he only wanted him okay!” His eyes darted over to Kirsch. “He wanted us to bring him back alive and I don’t know what for!” Kirsch stepped forward, whispering something into Mel’s ear that caused her to retreat back to Danny. The half-elf threw back his hood and wiggled his face free from the lower face mask. He looked rugged but his blue eyes still shimmered with kindness. Methodically, he stretched his hand and gripped the ram mask before pulling it back and shattering it to pieces. There was nothing between them now and they all could see the horror on the man’s face.

            “We aren’t going to kill you,” Kirsch began. “In a couple of hours your men will wake up and when they do they will no doubt eventually get you out of here. Come after us again and it will be your worst nightmare but if you follow these instructions carefully you get to enjoy the rest of your life. I want you to deliver a message to my fath… Heath. Tell him to give up, whatever it is he is planning, whatever it is he wants from me, tell him to give up his charade. Tell him if he sends more men after me that I will not be this kind. Tell him my patience is short. Tell him if he causes more trouble that I will find him and end this once in for all.” The man coward to the strength coming up from Kirsch’s throat and nodded furiously. The half-elf looked back at his team members who knew this matter did not concern them but Danny took a few steps forward, rubbing her fur on his outer thigh. The squadron continued their journey onwards trying to drown out the screams of a man fused to a tree.

 

* * *

 

 

            “Wow, so you really chose here as a base?” Lafontaine asked as they stepped onto a porch they barely recognized. It felt like a long time ago, another lifetime ago that they were last here. The vampire hunched over, schlepping a body bag into a doorway she cracked open with her shoulder. “Never figured you to be a nostalgic per… please tell me that guy’s not dead.” The warlock pointed to the blindfolded man tied to a chair in the center of the room. A bit dramatic but it was meant to be the first thing people were to see when they entered the room.

            “Didn’t think I would be coming back here,” Carmilla whispered gently. Her body felt so much more heavy today, she needed to rest. She proceeded inside, slowly trotting past the man. Jackson shook awake, instantly trying to speak against the rope but his muffled murmurs equated to nothing salvageable. “No, he’s not dead, obviously.” The immortal walked to the backyard leaving the warlock alone with the screaming man.

            Lafontaine rushed over to the tap, getting a glass of water for the man. There was no telling how long the man had been there. The rope binding him to the furniture was fraying and his wounds scabbing over as Laf hurried to aid the man.

            “Don’t move, I’m going to give you some water.” Jackson nodded, his lips a chapped wasteland as the warlock moved to lower the rope that gagged him. They drained the water into his mouth and Jackson coughed most of it down.

            “Thank you, thank you,” Jackson pleaded. Carmilla entered the room again, watching intently at the interaction between them. Lafontaine was being kind, it was instinctual and pure. The immortal pitied how naïve the warlock was. The man tied before them was a trained killer, one that they had allowed to live a little bit longer. Lafontaine remained close to the creature whose muzzle lay on its neck. “Please, please you must be the one she told me would come.”

            “Nope, a little premature Jackson.” The sound of Carmilla’s voice caused him to shudder. He was absolutely terrified of his capture and Death wouldn’t lie. It was enjoyable watching the man suffer.

            “Please, let me go! Please she has been keeping me here against my will! Please!” Lafontaine shuddered at the thought. They cleared it away, knowing it wasn’t rational to think that Carmilla had stayed the same. For god sakes her skin was pale, almost white in contrast and the thing going on with her eyes was terrifying. It was like molten steel swimming in her iris. The warlock could feel the anger slipping off the vampire in waves of heat. Sometimes when they looked at her, they saw nothing similar to the Carmilla that they knew. It was like something else was stuffed in that body but the moment she brought up Laura her perceptions changed. She didn’t want to talk about it of course but the warlock could see the immortal soften, nothing got to her the way Laura did.

            “I’m sorry we can’t do that,” Carmilla’s voice was thick and husk. “You still have to give a message for me.”

            “To who?” The warlock asked, half knowing the answer.

            “I can feel them coming Laf, I know you bought me some time but they are still things I want to do before we do this. First I need to tell you something, then we leave.” The immortal pushed off a bar stool over to the fridge. She lingered for a moment before plucking out a bag of a thick red liquid. The vampire bound to the chair started to shake at the scent of blood. Carmilla looked over at the warlock, who was fixated on Jackson.

            “What’s going on?” The warlock’s voice was drowned out by the vampire’s groans. He was practically foaming, the god awful sounds coming from his chest. It rang in their eardrum like scrapping metal and the tremors made his body vibrate. Carmilla sprinted over, appearing in between them in no time and used her nails to puncture through the bag. She knocked the thirsty vampire’s head back and poured it into his mouth.

            “It’s the hunger, he will be fine.” Jackson gulped down the contents of the blood bag before Carmilla moved to restrict his mouth again.

            “Were you ever like this?” Lafontaine threw her bewilderment onto Carmilla.

            “Yes,” Carmilla looked back over at Jackson, whose body was still humming. But he hung his head back, his mind entranced in a sense of euphoria. “After a while you get used to it, then you really feel the pain.” There was a moment of silence between them. The quiet making the warlock uneasy. But the air filled with more moans from the bloodied vampire and Carmilla quickly turned on the TV to drown out the noise.

            “What were you trying to tell me before?” The vampire looked back at Lafontaine, knowing they needed to know if they were to proceed any farther.

            “A few weeks ago I was told my mother is still alive. It makes sense, she is the only one capable of this kind of treachery. She turned Jackson here ten years ago, I’m assuming many more, and is going under the code name Dean. But the thing is, her body still remains in her grave at The Compound, so it is likely she has taken a new one.”

            “You guys can do that?”

            “Power comes with age to us and well circumstance. Mother was old, older than Maddie, most likely ancient so I wouldn’t put that past her. I want to go after her first, while I still can, while I have these strengths. Point is when we went out to find Nox, it was like the mastermind of this whole charade was always one step ahead of us. Now coincidentally Ginger Twin #2 has gone missing. Lafontaine I know you are intelligent enough to put two and two together.” The warlock sat with their head in their hands, not wanting to admit the truth. They rubbed at their temples, feeling the strain and pressure of keeping everything inside bubble at their surface.

            “I know already Carmilla,” They began. The truth was, they figured it all out a long time ago. Being a researcher meant having many assumptions about how something actually worked before finding the evidence yourself. Lafontaine worked on a bunch of theories, this one being the hardest to bear and also the one they buried so deep inside of them. How could Laf not notice something else was happing with Perry? The nymph they loved so vastly and spent the most time with and they couldn’t see the subtly changes. Lafontaine could tell you how many freckles lay across the bridge of her nose, the space connecting her shoulders, and even her arms but for some reason didn’t know Lola wasn’t Lola anymore. “I didn’t know it was your mom but I knew something was wrong, after the fact. I can’t understand why she would just leave but then I realized it wasn’t her and I couldn’t bear to admit it or even that I couldn’t see it.”

            Carmilla wanted to comfort Lafontaine, wished for their sake that things would have turned out differently. Their situation mirrored hers with Laura and it was for the first time she could see what Laura must be going through. She wanted to run, run until she found the sweet embrace that was Laura’s arms. But Carmilla was terrified, no petrified of hurting her. Right now she couldn’t even move any closer to Lafontaine, a friend she hardly knew, because her brain was swimming with thoughts of blood. She tried so hard to keep away, to maintain a distance so she wouldn’t leap forward. It was draining to even have this conversation but they needed her help.

            “Possession is tricky. It is small changes at first, even I wouldn’t notice it, I doubt that she would have. Then something happens and it’s like night and day between them and I don’t know how to separate them.” Carmilla leaned back on the couch, keeping her eyes steady on the slow moving vampire across from her. “Jackson here gave me the Heath’s location, like I said before he will bring us to Perry…”

            “If you kill her I won’t help you,” Lafontaine’s voice was stern and abrupt. Tears brimmed their eyelids and they crossed their arms in front of their chest. Carmilla was itching to kill again, the sensation an addiction like blood or alcohol. The deepest parts of her were hungry, starving even and she was uncertain whether or not she could even control herself.

            “I don’t want to; I want to be free more than I want anything.”

            “I can help you but you have to help me.” Lafontaine searched Carmilla’s face for reassurance but she was cold. Her entire being was a little off than normal. She looked bigger than normal but they could tell that somewhere the same Carmilla was just waiting to come back.

            “We are going to leave tonight and are stopping at the sanctuary first,” Their moment was interrupted by the sounds of Jackson groaning again. His bliss was short lived and was back in his personal hell. 

            “Why tonight? No one knows we are here, I mean geez Carmilla you need to relax. At least get a night of sleep.” Carmilla could feel her mind scatter again. Shreds of her humanity being pushed aside, tossed into the night like she was nothing. Thoughts of leaving, thoughts of running, of murder, genocide, of giving into everything that she now is.

            “When I close my eyes I can feel her, heading in this direction, coming for me. She’s so stubborn, I know her anger is fueling her bringing her back to me. We have things to do before I can let them catch up. I can’t face her, I can’t let her see what I am, I can’t go back there not after all I did with empty hands.”

            “Carmilla she has been going crazy without you. For a month she trained her ass off with her father and Dorian not to take back The Guard but so she could come looking for you! Laura loves you Carmilla with everything she has! I know you care about her, I know you still want to be with her Carmilla. So this petty revenge could wait. Do you think she wouldn’t approve? Because she would kill for you.” Lafontaine noticed something shifted. The air in the room had suddenly become thicker and the immortal was almost vibrating.

            “I can’t Laf! I can’t!” Carmilla erupted. “Every second of this existence has been nothing but pain and it is driving me crazy! I want her with everything I have but I can’t just go back now! Not when I’m terrified I will destroy everything because all I think about is death. Every fiber of my being is dying and I want to get rid of all these voices in my head taunting me. I can’t… I can’t…. I can’t.” Lafontaine reached out, putting a hand on Carmilla’s shoulder but retracted when they felt the intense heat burning the immortal’s skin.

            “Carmilla, breathe… it’s okay, we are going to fix you. I will help you get back to your usual mess and then life will precede as normally scheduled.” The immortal could feel more power brewing within her. The electricity firing in her nervous system, the heat, the air, all bundled together was too much at once. She held her head back, her eyes becoming more white than steel but swallowed down the pain burning the lining of her throat.

            “First we get Perry… I’ll stop your pain if you stop mine.” Carmilla pushed off the couch and stood in front of the vampire who fidgeted in his containment. The muffled sounds fell to deaf ears as he shook his head. The tips of the immortal’s fingers shined a purple tint as small bundles of electrons visibly bounced between them. Carmilla did not gain enough control but the things she could do were now numerous.

            “What are you doing?” Lafontaine’s voice was shaky.

            “Sometimes we all just need to forget.” Carmilla gripped at the back of Jackson’s neck, digging into his brain stem as he screamed out in pain.

 

* * *

 

 

            The group of five had settled out in the pit of a cave with limited amount of light. Theo pressed himself against the cool wall, tending to his stitches and wounds and unwilling to admit how weak he actually was. For a moment Kirsch joined him, using the runoff to clean the gunk stuck to his skin. In no time, the half-elf cleansed the red skin and carefully maneuvered water around his stiches. Theo thanked him heavily, switching to new bandages and was more than ready for a night of rest that would barely be fulfilling enough. Danny and Mel sat together at the mouth to of the cave, keeping watchful eyes out on the forest in front of them. The filled the space between them with small chatter about uninteresting things and then planted themselves in archery.

            Laura Hollis couldn’t see the stars from where she was sitting. She closed her eyes, willing them to appear on her lids. Sometimes when she tried hard enough she could feel Carmilla next to her. Her warm presence, her broody nature, everything that made her, her. The love Laura had for her poured out of her being every time she indulged in this fantasy. She imagined everything that she would say to her, the tears, the happiness, the anger all in one. They were so close, right on her trail and soon they would be reunited but Laura feared that maybe Carmilla would never be the same. Maybe they couldn’t work through whatever this is that is destroying the love of her existence. Maybe she wouldn’t be enough to heal all the damage inflicted on such a beautiful soul. Laura never really liked maybes, she like finality. The human knew though, that this was just the beginning of their story.

            “You should probably get some sleep,” Kirsch was sitting cross legged right next to her. Theo must have hobbled off to bed. “It will be good for you.” Laura cracked her eyes open.

            “I can’t sleep, I just want to get out there, find all the answers I can and then go back home. Hopefully with Carmilla.”           

            “If not?”

            “I don’t want to think about it…” The half-elf already knew that answer better than he knew himself. There was no way Laura wouldn’t crumble, she was already held together by thin strings as it was. She would fall but Kirsch could help her, the same way that Danny helped him, patiently.

            “She will come back with us, she has to. So does Lafontaine. We aren’t going to lose anyone else, I promise you.” If there was one thing she could trust in would be Kirsch’s word. But Laura was shrouded in self-doubt, in extensive worry to the point where she didn’t sleep much anymore. She lies awake most nights, thinking, anxiously waiting for something to storm into her life the way Carmilla did.

            “In the morning we will leave, we are close by The Holy Ground and then we go from there, I just hope we get there in time.” The half-elf shook his head, knowing that Laura was deflecting.

            “Laura please… I know it’s eating you up inside,” Kirsch placed his hand on her shoulder, feeling the grooves of a semi-fresh scar. He could feel it building, coming to a climax, all the suffering she shielded her soul from that she needed to confront. Now that things had gotten more real, now that they were nipping the truth at the heel, they could face all of this together. Laura closed her eyes, wishing away all the negative thoughts but her chest hurt far too much to swallow them whole.

            “I just feel like she’s gone, all of her. I feel like we are chasing a ghost, that there is no point anymore. I don’t give a shit about whatever else is happening to us and to our world I just want her. I want her back and that is an awful thing to say…”

            “Why do you think that?” Kirsch was confused, how could loving someone be wrong at all. It never was, it was pure and warm. In his experience, he grew to embrace that as long as he could.

            “Because we are guardsmen! We shouldn’t have priority of one case over the other, I should give a damn about the realm and all the people that we are out here trying to protect but I just don’t care. Every morning she is my first thought and sometimes I think this would be easier if she were dead. If she died instead of Will, then he would still be here and things would be different.” The half-elf’s semi-pointed ears perked up. He watched the breath escape Laura’s mouth as it all clicked in.

            “This isn’t about Carmilla… I mean it is but not entirely, you haven’t grieved for Will yet.” The gears started spinning at full speed when he thought about all the times Laura had seen him break down over the past month. All the pain Kirsch outwardly showed, everything that he expelled from his body, the human watched. “Do you think Danny or I blame you for what happened? Because we don’t, it was no one’s fault except for Nox…”

            “But he died protecting me Kirsch!” The half-elf could feel himself erupting.

            “He lived to protect you! Both him and Carmilla, that’s the entire reason they were at The Guard. Without you I would have never met him and we wouldn’t have had the time that we did together. Laura you need to confront this, you need to move on, no matter how much it hurts.” Kirsch knew what Laura had forgotten and that was how much Will cared for Laura. The human felt a little bit lighter, just a little when she finally let go. She was stubborn, she got that from both parents. But it was time to let the pain in. That night she cried more than the last month combined thinking about how her life destroyed Carmilla’s family. That was the guilt she carried around with her for so long, the pain she pushed away. She could understand Carmilla leaving, hell she would have done it to after she lost so much. Laura knew that the vampire just needed to know that it was okay to come back, that she would get her if it was the last thing she did. She could finally admit to herself that she was absolutely and entirely in love with Carmilla Karnstein.


	5. Redemption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: hypertonic-rhythm
> 
> Hey guys I'm sorry it's been some time. I've been working through an intense writer's block and have been busy with some family stuff. Anyways there are about 2-3 chapters left in this story so I hope you enjoy it and the end as much as I do.

            Laura Hollis was the first one to touch her feet down at The Holy Ground. She had been waiting an entire month for this. The human was the first to wake that early morning and waited for the rest of them to awaken for hours. She was jittering mess, her entire body a vibrating village, after a while she couldn’t wait any longer. Once Kirsch woke up he glanced over at Laura with his sleepy eyes and nodded surely. In that moment, she took off, her legs cracking the rock foundation, forcing everyone awake. In the air she sped faster than ever before, breaking barriers, feeling the wind slide past her skin. She dive-bombed forward, slamming her body into the earth just as the mist on the plane started to rise to her ankles. The air whipped upwards until it formed the shape of woman. Laura closed her eyes, trying to rationalize this moment, listening to the sounds of nature spiraling around her until a hand reached forward and grabbed her shoulder.

            “Please tell me you caught up with Carmilla?” Olivia Hollis was radiant as always. Laura cried at the bitter sweet sound of her mother’s voice. The human merely shook her head and Oliva collapsed into her daughter. It wasn’t until then that she realized she really needed a hug from a woman who loved her unconditionally. So much pent up emotion, dread, guilt and many other forms of pain all stuffed inside of her leaked out at her mother’s embrace. “It’s okay sweetie, it’s okay.”

            “I don’t know where she is Mom, that’s what we came here to find out?”

            “We?” Olivia looked around but there was no one but them in the field.

            “The rest of my team should be here soon, we left the compound after Dad’s coronation…” Laura was cut off by her equally talkative mother.

            “Wait what?! You are going to have to catch me up on whatever the hell has been going on?” Laura gave her mother a strange look. The whole reason they had ventured this way was to get information from the Dead. Laura figured her mother might have at least some shred of intel for her since Carmilla had visited this place specifically for her in the past.

            “After Maddie died there was no formal leader of The Guard. Dorian, Ivory, and Dad took the up the mantel themselves but before we left to take back the compound they decided Dad would take over as commander.”

            “Is he happy?” That was the only question Olivia had. She worried about her husband, even in death. She was there to see what happened to him when he left that job. Markus was happy to be home for his family but she worried that maybe it wasn’t enough for him. The Maverick back then would have never admitted how much he enjoyed being a guardsman, no matter how hard it was. But Olivia knew, like how most loved ones do, that their soulmate was missing a part of himself.

            “I think so… that’s not why I’m here though Mom.” Again, Olivia knew when a part of her loved one was missing. She looked at Laura and saw the dark side of the moon, like the light had been drawn away. Her eyes had lost their luster, her being shrouded in some darkness but stronger than ever.

            “Laura she needs you, I have never seen her like this before. She’s changed… I don’t know what she is now… it’s not like her.” Carmilla needed Laura but Laura didn’t know how to change anything. She was angry, she had every right to be but needed Carmilla in every way that the vampire needed her.

            “She took back The Guard from the elves. By the time we got there, everything had been destroyed. Carmilla killed Vordenburg and almost killed all the elves, it was brutal what she did to them.” It made Laura sick just thinking about it but she had to remember that it wasn’t Carmilla doing these things.

            “Something is wrong Laura, I felt it the moment I saw her, all that pain corrupting her. By now I imagine it has taken its toll. I just hope she is okay.”

            “Do you know anything, anything at all that could help us?” Laura begged any information from her mother.

            “I don’t know sweetheart, she just came here to see us all and the only thing I could think of was that Carmilla’s mother is still alive.” Laura gave Olivia a strange look, a little taken back from this. “Listen, Nox confirmed this, maybe she is going after her mother, maybe there is something else going on. Either way I don’t know where she went.” In order to move forward, they need to know where she was. All they had was a pile of speculation, a semblance of a plan that they couldn’t put together. Whatever this was, in its entirety, was a mess of a plan. Either way, Laura knew she only had a limited time with her mother before everyone else came to her location and that Olivia didn’t have any more information for her.

They filled the time with small chatter, Laura recanting memories, tidbits that unfortunately Olivia missed out on. For hours they sat together at this edge of the clearing waiting for the rest of her team to catch up with her. But time went by too quickly and smooth enough that Laura didn’t notice how long she was speaking with her mother until she noticed familiar people entering about a hundred yards off. First she saw Kirsch, sprinting into their location. He saw Laura and her mom sitting off to the side when the rest of the squad filed in. The half-elf nodded at her when he could feel the air around him gain some moisture. He fell to his knees in the center of the clearing, looking forward, waiting patiently as Danny positioned herself close behind him. Four figures moved out from behind the brush, one sprinting forward into the two as soon as he materialized. Theo and Mel were surprised the second time on this trip and knew it wouldn’t end.

The ghost of William Karnstein threw his arms around Wilson Kirsch and Danny Lawrence, squeezing his loved ones against him. Kirsch and Danny didn’t want to give into the feeling, the warmth spreading from the vampire into them, because it was all just temporary. The werewolf looked at Will’s face fully, he was clean shaven and his hair short but he looked happy as he cried into them. Danny took the vampire’s face into her hands, the stubble pricking at her fingertips and ran her hand through his jet black hair. This all felt so real as he stared back at her, counting the small freckles on the bridge of her nose. He pushed himself into her space, planting his lips on Danny’s, kissing her sweetly. The werewolf wanted to give in the moment she started to tingle and small sparks electrocuted her skin. Will pulled back and smiled before retreating to Kirsch and doing the same. The half-elf felt himself crumble into the vampire’s mouth.

The three being behind Will coughed to get them to halt their love fest. The ghost of Matska Belmonde silently cheered on her little brother. Wilson Rancor smiled, feeling only happiness to see his nephew fill with joy. Samson Young waited on the side, catching a small confused glare from Laura Hollis. Will pulled himself backwards, keeping his arms wrapped around his significant others. He wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as he could but he understood they were all here for a reason.

“I missed you two so much,” Will’s voice was sturdy despite how charged the exchange was. Laura audibly gasped as Danny and Kirsch looked at each other and then back at Will and then back at each other. That was the second when they both gave in, the moment they heard what Will’s voice sounded like, they both started to sob.

“What the hell…” Laura ran over to Will and buried herself in his torso. Danny and Kirsch let go for a moment, letting the vampire hug his favorite human. “Your voice… it’s really nice.”

“Thank you, you have gotten so strong, all of you I can feel it,” he looked at all of them, feeling like a proud father. “Quick question though what are Theo and Mel doing here?” He waved at the two, who were still stuck on the fact that this place even existed and that they were confronted with five ghosts.

“They wanted to help us find Laf, Perry, and Carmilla. I thought it would be good to forgive him, it’s what you would have done.” Kirsch spoke gently to his vampire, who just nodded. He caught the glint of the twisted metal leg on the elf’s body as he limped with Mel closer to the group. Olivia Hollis trotted forward, slinging her arm around Maddie who smiled at the interaction. In Death, it seemed most of them were content, happy even.

“What do you mean Laf and Perry, I thought Carmilla was the only one who left?”

“Perry left after we returned from Nox’s camp and Laf left to find Carmilla,” Laura summarized. “Lafontaine discovered whatever it is that Carmilla was up to and left to go help her but we still don’t know what’s going on.”

“That’s why we are here, we know Carmilla must have come here and we need any information we can get.” Danny spoke eagerly. Rancor moved over to his nephew and gave him a quiet exchange. Things had changed since the last time they spoke to each other and The Nix could feel it. There was darkness clouding his soul but the beard was a nice touch. The dead were quiet for a moment, knowing only one of them could give the proper response to this mess.

“Samson you need to explain this to them,” the former commander looked over at her dead friend. The man who had done so much harm to all of them there. Suddenly it all clicked in for Laura, she knew she recognized this man but didn’t know where from.

“You’re Nox,” she stuttered. This was the man she previous hated but looked nothing like she remembered. His brown skin was filled with luster and entire being with life. When she last saw him he was pale and lifeless, like everything inside him was rotting.

“I was…” Samson’s voice was kind and it was a little unsettling, especially to Kirsch since he was the reason Will is dead. Danny steadied the half-elf, tracing up and down the backs of his arms but Kirsch’s jaw locked in place. Will must have sensed it too as he snapped his line of sight right into the ocean eyes of Wilson Kirsch. The half-elf simmered but still struggled against his rage. “But you don’t have the entire story.”

“What entire story?! You killed my mother! My father’s best friend! One of my closest friends, stole him away from the two people who could love him the most! And now my girl- Carmilla is off god knows where doing something stupid when she-,” Laura’s mother gave her the look only a mother could, the one that screamed to shut up.

“We forgave him…,” Will was quiet, even in death when he had a voice he didn’t have much to say.

“What happened wasn’t entirely his fault and we forgave him, so can all of you.” Matska’s voice was strong. “Besides Nox was just a byproduct of what is really going on here, so you all should be more concerned about that.” They were all silent until the warlock cleared his throat.

“Thank you Maddie. I understand your resentment and I deserve it but you need to know the truth. I did not kill Lilith Morgan, the former commander of The Guard, instead she recruited me fifteen years ago after the death of my family. I was vulnerable and angry and believed her when she said I could become the most powerful being in the world as long as I helped her out. She wanted me to gather others to our cause, the elves, Heath, the demons. It was all a part of her plan, to let us destroy the world so that she will be the only one ruling it. Now she goes under a different name ‘Dean’.” The five guardsman didn’t know the Commander like the dead did. But they could each give a million reasons why the mother of vampires would do such a thing. Even Will and Maddie knew how cruel she was but had always looked out for them.

“Okay, is that all you told Carmilla?” Laura just accepted it as fact. Honestly, she didn’t care about this agenda, she just wanted her vampire back.

“Yes, unfortunately it has nothing to do with your missing friends, I’m sorry.” Samson bowed out. He didn’t have any more information to give about Carmilla’s whereabouts.

“I don’t understand,” Danny scrunched her forehead. “Your mother has been buried in the cemetery in the back of the compound and the soil there hasn’t been touched in years.”

“That’s because the Dean can take over different bodies, for at most a few months before needing to change,” Samson spoke up.

“How?” Mel questioned. “How does she do that?”

“The older the vampire, the strong they typically are.” Maddie pointed out.

“The demons were in charge of that since they were sort of experts in possession. All I know is that they would invade and find her a vessel to use and would find me.”

“Perry…” Laura whispered. “When the demons attacked, it wasn’t a distract… it was to find a new host. I thought you had gotten all of them.” She looked over at Will.

“I thought so too but there were so many, it’s possible that my mother could have snuck in and then taken her.”

“So that means that the entire time we were searching for Nox and even when we came here last, Perry wasn’t even Perry. How did we not notice it?” Danny placed her head in her hands suddenly feeling heavy. Will moved to comfort her immediately, he never liked seeing her this way. Through her jacket he could feel the scars along her shoulder and was instantly hit with the memory of burning her skin and the sounds of her screaming.

“We all didn’t,” the vampire reassured her. “Possession takes some time to fully take into effect, but I doubt even Lafontaine knew what was happening to her then.” Laf was the closest to Perry, the fact that she was changing and the warlock didn’t notice must have been devastating.

“But that doesn’t explain why Lafontaine left,” Olivia Hollis didn’t have a voice that could travel much but when she could she was sure to be heard. “You said they knew whatever it is that Carmilla is after, maybe Carmilla is after Perry, more specifically Lilith.” It made sense, in the mess of information that they had this could be one possibility but there were outliers to this.

“But that doesn’t explain the bodies…” Kirsch had been quietly thinking to himself as the others talked. People often overlooked him as an intellectual but sometimes he had his moments. “Or the books in the library… I don’t think Laf knew about Perry but maybe they did about what Carmilla was planning to do with them.”

“Do you know what the books were?” Maddie asked.

“No, most of them were written in Sumerian and they said the one in English was about some dark magic.” Laura passed the information to dead ears. “Dr. Damascus thought that whatever Lafontaine found was something that intrigued them but we just don’t know what that is.”

“Bodies. Lafontaine. Carmilla. Souls of the Dead.” William was thinking out loud for once in his undead life. “Who’s body does she have?” Kirsch didn’t want to tell him. He figured Will must be at peace here and didn’t want to disturb that. He looked at Laura, silently pleading but the human had a different opinion. They needed to follow through with all of this or it would be for nothing.

“After you died… she took yours.” Laura tried her best to be gentle about it. “Then she infiltrated the compound and killed Vordenburg for what he did to Maddie, then took her body.” William was again deep in thought, the fact that he wasn’t even buried past right though him but not Belmonde.

“What do you mean?” The former commander questioned.

“He hung your body, from a tree for everyone to see…” Theo began. “When Carmilla saw it she went crazy and killed Vordenburg.” Maddie looked at Theo and was disgusted, she glanced him up and down.

“I’m guessing she also did that to you…” nudging over to his false leg.

“Wait!” Will shouted. It frightened Laura a little bit at how loud he could be. No one every expected him to be anything other than quiet. “Lafontaine researched reanimation! They had done experiments and research with The Void and the differences between souls and subconscious! Carmilla! She wants to bring us back!” His voice boomed but everything around him was immediately silent.

“I don’t understand…” The only sound was Laura’s slow murmur. “Can she even do that?”

“It’s never been done before, successfully.” Maddie looked over at her brother. “There has just been legends of it and those who have tried have either failed or died attempting.”

“You guys need to stop her before it’s too late!” Will chimed in.

“You can’t,” Samson blew all of the air out of his chest.

“And why the hell not!” Laura was still held her anger about the past close to her chest. “If we don’t stop her she could die!” The human could feel her heart freeze over when the words left her mouth. It was like her tongue and mind had betrayed her. Then she could sense her cheeks burning and the air escaping her mouth. There was only one thing she was absolutely certain of and that was she didn’t want to live in a world without Carmilla. She didn’t care how far away she was, she took solace in knowing that she existed and that the time they spent together was real.

“I had taken only one other soul in my mortal body and I was suffering every moment. I don’t know how she can handle three, especially for as long as she has. It’s tearing her apart inside and it’s likely she will die anyways.” Samson knew better than anyone there what that was like. Slowly decaying from the inside out. It was torture everyday but the power made him forget sometimes since it felt so good.

“Find her…” Will whispered. “There’s got to be another way to fix all of this. There has to be.”

“We still don’t know where she is,” Danny was exhausted and it was only midday. “We know what she wants, what she is after, and what she has, but still after all this time we are no closer to finding out where she is.” It was all frustrating and Laura wanted to pull her hair out. At this point she would scour the earth, destroy everything in her path if she has to just to find Carmilla.

“You said three,” Rancor spoke up. He had been quietly listening this whole time. “Your friend has three other people inside of her but only has two bodies. We can assume she wants to get rid of all three so who is the other one? Who else is she going to bring back?” Laura looked at all the members of the dead and then at her mother. Olivia Hollis once meant the world to Carmilla, of course it had to be her.

“Home,” was all Olivia had to say. She could see all the anxiety make her daughter shake and knew she was restless like her father. “You need to search the house. She would probably have stopped by on her way. Just go, you have a lot of time to make up.” Kirsch looked around at his team and then his partner in crime, his uncle, and his commander who gave him a safe home. He didn’t want to leave this place. None of them did, they missed these people so much it was hard to say goodbye, again.

“It’s okay… we won’t be going anywhere,” Will was back to his kind self. He threw his arms around Danny and Kirsch, feeling so warm against them. “Just visit when you can, and let yourself be happy together.” It was bittersweet but they both kissed his cheeks at the same time. They instantly missed his warmth once he retreated to the other dead. Olivia Hollis followed suit, throwing herself into her daughter and watching her soar into the air like an illustrious eagle. In that moment, she was so proud of how strong Laura had become, it was incredible what she could do. Heath waved goodbye to his nephew, seeing the improvement inside of him but also the toll everything must have taken on him. Maddie watched her students with an old friend, immensely proud of how far they had come and wishing them hast and hoping they would get to Carmilla in time.

 

* * *

 

 

            Laura burst through the doors of her childhood home with her teammates in toe. The five of them had raced all the way there with the human’s flying abilities giving her the edge. The rest were right on her tail though as unsolicited horror splashed into her eyes. She involuntary let out a gasp as her mind was forever scared with the image of a bloody man, tied and gagged on one of her dining room chairs. Danny had to cover her nose, the stench infiltrating her heightened senses. The weak man had his head hunched over, barely able to hear them at the entrance. Kirsch plowed forward and startled the man who instantly started thrashing in his restraints. The half-elf prepared a glass of water as the rest slowly waltzed in taking it all in. He quickly withdrew a section of rope and messily helped the man drink.

            “You must be the one’s she said would come…” the man’s voice was raspy as he clung to his breath.

            “Who?” Mel inquired. The rest of them maintained a distance from the bleeding man.

            “Death!” He shouted. He snapped his fangs out into the air, drool escaping his open mouth. He groaned when his fossil teeth hit nothing but air. His mouth was barren dry and he was going out of his mind. The gang watched him intensely as he struggled to get either of them but his restraints kept him at bay. “I’m so hungry! I’m sorry, please, please, I’ll tell you what you want just let me go!” He screamed in agony.

            “Where did she go?” Kirsch interrogated. The half-elf took more water from the glass and froze it over the man’s arms, just as a precaution.

            “She went looking for Rancor and the Dean! Over at Hollow’s Edge was our base was! I told her that’s where she could find him! Please!”

            “What about Lafontaine?” Danny asked.

            “There was no one else here! Please, please, let me go!” The man started to cry, his fangs still so prominent in his mouth. Laura had already zoned out completely. Everything in her house had looked exactly the same, exactly how they had left it a month ago except for the tarp and this man tied to a chair. Carmilla had done this to this man. She left him here for a reason, she must know that they are coming for her but it didn’t make sense. Where was Lafontaine? Out of the corner of his eye, Theo saw something flutter in the man-made wind the vampire had generated. He turned as soon as it caught his eye and investigated this folded piece of paper.

            “He guys look at this,” his hands pulled back to see a hand written note. He skimmed it briefly but handed it over to Laura immediately after.

            “The bodies are at the sanctuary below the ruins of the seventh church,” Laura read aloud. Her voice masked the whimpers of a defeated vampire. “If you don’t catch us in time we will be there. There is blood in the fridge to feed Jackson. I’m sorry. Signed Lafontaine. P.S. We stole your dad’s car.” Laura smoothly slid the note in her back pocket.

            “We are going to have to split up,” everyone was quiet for a moment except for Theo. “We don’t know how long that note has been there. They could be long gone by now or we could be right on their tails.”

            “Theo’s right,” Danny would have never been the one to admit it. “We need to move quickly so Laura, you and Kirsch should go to Hollow’s Edge. The rest of us would never get there in time… I can take everyone else to the sanctuary.”

            “No… we do this together!” Kirsch whined.

            “Kirsch we can’t run the risk of them getting away if we commit to one place only,” Theo tried to persuade him with the facts but the half-elf wasn’t thinking rationally. To him, if they stood together there would be a better chance of them all surviving through it.

            “I can’t do this without you…” he was locking eyes completely with Danny. The werewolf’s eyes went wide and moved to place a hand on his arm. She guided the half-elf to an adjacent room to give them a moment alone. Laura braced herself on the end on her couch, watching Jackson struggle. He must have been there at most two weeks but Laura couldn’t process. It felt so real, all of this for the first time since her creation. Her mind filled with pain as Mel invaded her space.

            “Laura… Danny and Theo are right we need to keep moving.” The Diwata squatted down in front of the human. “You are a lot faster than us and Theo probably wouldn’t make it there until nightfall. This isn’t the time to zone out on us, we need you.” Laura’s tongue felt like poison in her mouth.

            “What about him? Carmilla did this to him. We can’t just leave him here to die” Theo hobbled over to the open kitchen. His metal leg scrapping against the tile. He was a natural with the prosthetic but sometimes it could be a bit clunky. The refrigerator door creaked open and Jackson seized at the scent of blood. Theo swiftly slashed the bag with his knife and ran over to empty its contents into the hungry vampire’s mouth. Jackson swallowed it whole, not taking his time to enjoy the flavor.

            “We knock him out and undue the knots. He can leave after we all do,” Theo spoke over the muttered groans from the vampire. Jackson proceeded to slump his head down into his chest, the blood filling his stomach. Laura pushed off her furniture, the knots in her spine cracking when she flexed straight. She could hear he soft sounds of Danny and Kirsch arguing, knowing the werewolf would get her way. Kirsch would do anything for Danny, and Laura knew he was just scared of losing her. Just like Laura was terrified of losing Carmilla completely. That wouldn’t happen though, not if Laura had any control over it.

            “You’re right.” Laura stepped closer to Jackson. She picked up his head in her hands, cradling the space under his jaw. The vampire couldn’t focus his dark eyes on her, instead he bounced back and forth between different areas of light. “I’m sorry,” she whispered before crushing a pressure point between her fingertips rendering him unconscious immediately. Danny and Kirsch joined the rest of them in the main room a moment later as Mel quickly worked to detangle all the rope that wrapped around the vampire’s body.

            “Theo, Mel, go with Danny. If they aren’t there, wait for us to come back,” Kirsch spoke with authority. “Laura come on, let’s go.” The half-elf sauntered out of the Hollis’ residence with Laura chasing after him. The human could sense his fear spreading all over him, it was an unusual sensation. Once the door closed behind her she spoke her mind.

            “I have a bad feeling about all of this.”

            “Doesn’t matter, we need to end this.” This wasn’t the life Kirsch had dreamed of when he joined The Guard. He wanted relaxed mission with not much at stake but now he was chasing a ghost.

            “What did Danny say to you?” Laura asked as they walked down the stairs of her porch.

            “She told me I was being stupid and this was the best strategy.” In reality, he knew he was. But he didn’t feel right about separating and he would have stood his ground too if it wasn’t for what Danny had said next. “Let’s go.” Kirsch focused fire on all the water around him. The moisture in the air, water in pipes, or dew on lawns and used that to propel himself swiftly into the forest, rampaging to wherever it was Carmilla was.

           

* * *

 

 

            “There are two over by the welcome gate, six on the left and at least a dozen on the flank,” Lafontaine spoke out loud. They were crouched on the outside of a human village, just out of sight from the supernatural creatures surrounding the area. They dug their feet into the earth, a connection they have always had with the planet since they were young. The warlock closed their eyes sensing more in several buildings. “I can’t pinpoint Heath’s location or Perry’s. But there are humans in this town, probably held hostage.”

            “Doesn’t matter, they will just get in my way.” Carmilla had her eyes hidden behind the white gauze. She was looking away from the village with her body sheathed behind the base of a tree. She could feel the air moving around her, coursing through the buildings, counting all the people. Her mind tied to focus on strategy but was stuck on a pulsating pain. She was losing it, but had to keep it all together.

            “Carmilla those are innocent people in there, you can’t just hurt them… We need to be smart about this, can’t cause a commotion or draw attention to us or they would just run.” Carmilla nodded listening to what Laf was saying but the pain was tremendous. The immortal winced in pain, falling over to her knees. Her brain was throbbing, turning into mush. She hunched over, holding her head in her hands. “Carmilla what’s wrong?” The warlock shifted, hoping not to make a sound. Carmilla shook her head and maintained a distance between her and Lafontaine. Even now she didn’t trust herself. The immortal focused an electrical current in her hand, carefully placing her fingertips to her temples to shock her system.

            “I’m fine,” the vampire pushed off the ground, placing her watchful gaze at two of the guards in a back entrance of the secluded area. “Take them out first, I’ll hide the bodies.”

            “Why do I have to do it?”

            “You were the one who wanted stealth, I’ll gladly just kill them.” Lafontaine scoffed the immortal off. They dipped a hand into the dirt and closed their eyes. The ground turned to sludge from where they were standing to about fifty yards away. The guardsman didn’t notice as first but they were slowly sinking into the muck. Lafontaine would have to work quickly if they wanted to dispose of them before they alerted anyone else. Carmilla began to fidget next to them. This was taking too long. In a flash, Carmilla was between both of them with a hand at the base of each skull. The immortal clamped down, sending a current into their nervous system, knocking them out completely. She moved as fast as she could, hiding the unconscious bodies in the brush.

            “I had that you know!” Lafontaine was speaking in a hushed tone but Carmilla didn’t have time for any of this. Together they stood on the edge of the area when the vampire heard air breaking in the distance. In an instant, someone plummeted down into the ground a few yards behind them. Someone who showed up a little too soon.

            “Carmilla!” Laura Hollis yelled at the cloaked figure in front of her. Death could feel it’s chest fill with blood. The sweet pain flooded up to the tips of her ears and for once Death felt at ease. Laura could feel it too, the tension built in her shoulders were gone. She felt her heart rattle in her ears and everything, everything felt like it was on fire as Death turned to face her.


	6. Infatuation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: hypertonic-rhythm
> 
> Next update will hopefully be up within a week. I'm going to busy with some family stuff but will write when I can. I hope you enjoy!

In the eyes of Death, Laura Hollis was a sunrise. She was the light after a horrible storm that dared its way through dark clouds. Her perfectly cherished tan skin and warm eyes that filled with nothing but compassion made the void where Death’s heart used to be pump anxiously. Blood rushed to her cheeks as her precious human stood in front of her, nervously, as if this was the first time they were meeting. The sweet sounds of Laura breathing was enough to make Carmilla emerge from the depths of oblivion. Shrouded in shame, the vampire shielded her face under the shadow of her own hood. Fear slipped down to her toes, freezing her in place but that blazing hot hole in the center of her chest ached for the small human. In this limited light, Laura’s hair was a glowing ember and made her features incredibly soft. She was the manifestation of everything that was right in the universe and the light of her soul. The immortal had her breath taken away the moment they made eye contact.

            Laura Hollis couldn’t completely see the extent of the damage done to her lover’s body over the course of a month. Carmilla Karnstein looked deathly pale, with her skin stretched on her tightened being. Laura couldn’t deny herself the opportunity to stare at the muscles on her exposed arms that were definitely not that defined previously. The vampire definitely gained some mass in their hiatus and it made her look menacing. Laura wanted to look into her eyes, to convey something that were beyond words, the love she felt for Carmilla. The human’s knees started to shake as her heart began to buckle too. She felt restless, like she wanted to run straight into the arms of her lover. Air escaped the immortal’s lips and when Laura saw the blood red inside she took off, sprinting straight into Carmilla with a speed almost no one could match. About halfway there Laura Hollis was immediately halted. Her body stopped instantly and no matter how hard she wanted to she couldn’t move; it was like she was paralyzed.

            “I’m sorry Laura but we don’t have the time to deal with this right now…” Lafontaine spoke for Carmilla since the vampire remained silent.

            “Carmilla,” Laura whispered. “Carmilla please…” The human couldn’t control her body, not even the tears flowing from her eyes. A pain ripped through her every moment Carmilla remained silent. “Carmilla!” Laura cried out.

            “Laura please be quiet, there are humans in there. We can’t alert the guards,” The warlock spoke in a hushed tone and then preceded to look around cautiously. Laf scanned the enclosed village, three guards with sharpened swords headed their way. “Quick there are some coming now!”  Carmilla surged forward, grabbing Laura in stride and launching both of them behind the safety of a tree. The warlock hurried after them, rushing to blend in with the forest.

            In the distance, three people strutted over to the back entrance the invaders currently occupied. They scanned the forest, trying to find the source of the disrupting noise they previously heard. Behind the camouflage of a tall series of bushes, Carmilla had one hand gently covering Laura’s mouth to trap any noise and the other slung across the human’s abdomen. With her back pressed up against the vampire’s torso, Laura was pinned into the immortal who still reeked of vanilla and now burning leaves. Carmilla kept her eyes straight ahead, watching the guards every move. Laura started to gain control of her body again but fell to mush at the proximity and way Carmilla cupped her hip. For a second the vampire gave in, letting her nose press against Laura’s hair, indulging in the scent of flowers. The three guards stood still for a moment as one radioed in, from the way the woman was standing, it didn’t look good. The bodies of the unconscious lay just a few meters out of their reach and Carmilla hoped they would just keep moving.

            Laura slowly turned to face Carmilla since the vampire’s grasp was loosening every antagonizing moment she held the human in her arms. She scanned the entirety of Carmilla’s face. The dirt grimed on her chin, the blood red lips that were slightly open, and the gleam of sweat popping on her nose. Suddenly, Laura let go of all the anger had for Carmilla. She forgot about all the abandonment, her killing and torturing people, her running away from everyone and everything to chase this dream of vengeance and crazy plan. Laura crept her hand up Carmilla’s face, inching up to the cloth that covered her eyes. The immortal let out a small groan, her fingertips felt like fire against her skin but let her human withdraw the cloth. Carmilla looked away, the moment too charged to bare her soul.

            “I’m sorry,” the vampire whispered. She felt lighter, just for that moment but Laura guided her gaze back to her. Laura gasped when she saw the spiraling silver and flecks of white circling her pupils.  The human closed her mouth when she saw Carmilla’s face drop, but then moved her face closer until their noses touched. Laura propelled herself forward, not even taking a moment to think about the consequences as she kissed her love sweetly. She could taste electricity dancing on her lips and Carmilla’s hesitant tongue. For a moment she closed her eyes and believed she was back in her room with the woman she loved. The vampire broke apart, forcing herself away from the pool of desire that was Laura Hollis.

            “I forgive you,” Laura kept her voice low.

            “Don’t.” Carmilla slid her hand up the base of Laura’s neck, she felt the urge to squeeze and clamp down hard but instead she sent a shock into the woman system. The human slumped against the floor as Carmilla quickly positioned her against the base of a nearby tree. She rose up, returning her gaze to the three watchmen. Lafontaine watched Carmilla flick out her scythe, you could see the immortal’s anger bubble on her physique. Carmilla flung out her blade that rotated directly to impale a man’s chest.

            The gruesome scream emitted from the base of his throat would have enough to wake up the entire country if it wasn’t for Carmilla vaulted forward and sealing his mouth shut with the flame manifested in her hand. The vampire kicked out to the right sending a wind tunnel to force the other two back off to the side. Carmilla skillfully withdrew her weapon from the man’s chest before jumping high up into the air. She landed in a pack of ten of them, silently in the middle and slashed her scythe upwards. She held the obsidian end with both hands allowing her heat to spread all the way to the blade. The immortal spun forward, rotating the weapon onto her back to rip through the people behind her. The commotion brought people rushing outside as she released an extended flame from the palm of her hand as she continued her blade dance.

            “Crap!” Lafontaine was by Laura’s side, trying to shake her awake when Carmilla went berserk. Behind them, Kirsch had finally caught up to a horrendous sight.

            “Laf what the hell is happening?!” He scanned the small village and saw massive flames burn up the air.

            “Go stop Carmilla, there are humans in there! I’ll try and wake Laura up… Go!” Lafontaine tried their best to urge Laura a wake but the human was knocked out cold. Kirsch ran as fast as he could into the space between houses and buildings. This quiet community was being completely flipped upside down as Carmilla shoved two heads together before throwing them against a building. As four rushed her, she jumped up into the air and lifted her scythe above her head and swung downwards. Her feet alone crushed two backs as her blade took care of the rest before she brought it full circle and slammed it into the earth, cracking it open. Before she could fire a bolt of electricity a spout of water smashed against her arm.

            “Carmilla please stop this madness! We are here to bring you home!” This was the loudest Kirsch had been since the death of one of his loves. The half-elf wanted to bring the vampire home, to return to some semblance of a life he had but Carmilla didn’t think she had a home to return to. The only thing she had left was Laura and she was messing that up royally. The immortal ignored the demands of her friend as three men rushed her flank. Carmilla ducked down, spinning out of reach and grabbed the arm of one the attackers and pushed downwards with such acceleration she flipped unto her back. The immortal side stepped out of the icicles launched from Kirsch and used her heated hand to punch the daylight out of the remaining two. The half-elf couldn’t get a clear read on the vampire who moved so swiftly.

            The immortal seemed to garner the attention of all the people who had occupied this village as none other than Heath Rancor stepped out of a small house. The half-elf turned to his paternal father as Carmilla struck down the last of the men on guard with a scythe swipe to the shoulder. Rancor’s hair was long and the scar tracing up the Nix’s chin to eyebrow tried to exaggerate his pointed face. But Kirsch felt nothing but pity for a man who had nothing and worked only for money or power or whatever pathetic trivial thing he wanted. It caused Kirsch no discomfort to see Carmilla rush his father and ram her knee into his face. Heath pushed it away after it had made contact but the immortal was quick to palm his chest and then send her back leg to kick up his chin. The half-elf stood still as the man who made him this way was beaten to a pulp by the fists of revenge. Carmilla held the man’s tattered collar and lifted him into the air.

            “Where is she?” Carmilla hissed. Heath’s face was a collection of red’s and purple’s as he was vulnerable to all of her attacks. The man was truly pathetic but yet he still smiled with his crooked teeth.

            “Don’t know who you’re talking bout sweetheart,” every word was announced with vile. The immortal rage peaked as her breath turned to flame. “Kirsch are you just going to stand there? Are you just going to let her kill me? Your own father?”

            “Yeah…” Rancor blinked in disbelief. He looked over at Carmilla. “The world would be a better place without you. Just make it quick.”  

            “Wait! You kill me and the humans are all dead! All of them!” Heath spat out. Kirsch peered over into the window of an adjacent building. He could see guards pointing weapons at civilians on their knees cowering away. The half-elf shook his head. His father had leverage and it unfortunately made this situation far more difficult.

            “You have only twenty men left, and more than a hundred hostages. They could all be dead before you blink just tell me where she is!” Rancor still was not giving up. His lips were sealed as Carmilla rage. Just as a wild fire escaped her mouth Heath twisted her arm to loosen her grip. He kicked the vampire’s ribs and landed hard on the ground. But somehow the Nix managed to roll away. Rancor started to run into a nearby building when Kirsch threw his hands out in front of him. A blistering pain throb in his head as he halted all the blood in his father’s body. He could feel the water coursing in his own veins as he controlled the liquid in Heath’s being.

            “Whaaat? What the hell are you doing to me?” Heath couldn’t move his lips but his vocal cords could still produce sound. Kirsch waved his hands down low, causing his father to fall to his knees.

            “Don’t worry about it… Carmilla clear the rest of them and he is yours. Hurry!” Kirsch was only bargaining with the immortal. He focused on the task at hand and his number one priority but the back of his head raged with the thought that Laura would kill him if he let Carmilla go. The immortal hesitated for a moment, her bloodlust was thickening and wasn’t thinking clearly. She could taste the rust of old blood scampering on her tongue. In a second she was out of the direct space where Heath watched his son with bloodshot eyes. Kirsch could feel the power surge through him and strain certain muscles. His semi-pointed ears could hear the vampire sprinting in and out of each building, stopping back in front of him to drop guards’ limp bodies. The half-elf hoped they weren’t dead. Kirsch was sweating so fiercely under the hot sun that he couldn’t think straight. He didn’t know how much longer he could control himself, how much longer he could tether his father to him without killing him completely.

            “Carmilla hurry up!” He shrieked. The immortal was weaving between people at top speed, quickly throwing the threat out of the civilians’ space. She was working as fast as she could but like all things it wasn’t good enough. Carmilla had one building left to raid when Kirsch faltered. The half-elf collapsed onto the ground, all his muscles aching at the same time. Heath Rancor sighed and trickled into laughter as he got to his feet and crackled his knuckles. His son squirmed on the ground, bits of blood busting through his lips.

            “Oh this will be fun…” Rancor moved to smash his hands unto the ground when Laura Hollis cracked his jaw with her fist. The momentum from the human’s punch sent him sailing back into a brick building, that devoured him whole. Laura heaved, her anger seeping through her pores as she stood hunched over in his place. The human still felt a little woozy as Lafontaine rushed over to Kirsch. Carmilla ran outside with the last of the guards in tow. When she saw Laura Hollis hobbling awake she froze in her leather pants. The human started to lose it and overextended her lean to one side. Before she could fall, Carmilla instinctually ran over before any of the voice screaming in her head could convince her otherwise. There she caved into her human, whose body was cold against her own.

            The guards swarmed the four of them, with their weapons extended outwards, ready to strike. Rancor had an incredible pain tolerance and managed to pull himself out of the wreckage of bricks. None of that matter to Carmilla, she could still get them all out of this but right now, holding a delirious Laura Hollis against her was the best feeling she had experienced in a while. She warmed her hands to run across any of the humans exposed skin, a move that just came out naturally as the vampire murmured incantations of apologies in Laura’s ears. Every voice in her head was a hushed whisper as her own shined through, screaming to hold her tighter. Carmilla folded into her dear love as her emotions overcame her. The only thing that matter to the vampire in that moment was Laura Hollis. That was until, someone with fiery red hair peeking out of a black hood strutted into the camp surrounded by burly demon guards.

            “Oh Carmilla dear,” she fake whined. “My oh my, look at how weak you are.” Her hearty voice changed to sour disgust as she dropped her hood, letting the red tangles bake in the sunshine.

            “Perry,” The breath escaped the warlock’s mouth as the nymph body twitched at the mention of her name. It visibly looked like her skin was crawling away from her bones.

            “I’m sorry dear, no one here by that name.” The way the Dean walked was a powerful saunter. Her mannerisms were nothing like the way Perry acted, in fact the being in front of them now was standing straight as an arrow with a crooked smile. Lafontaine held onto Kirsch who was stable enough to keep his head up but they watched all the guards around them take a step closer. The warlock turned their attention to Carmilla. They watched the way she held Laura like she was a child and the human was her teddy bear. The vampire had rage written all over her face but clung to Laura like this was the end of the world.

            “You,” Carmilla muttered. Kirsch could feel the moisture in the air combust as he saw the heat waves form around the vampire’s body.

            “I heard you have been looking for me. I’ve heard a lot about you lately and even more about that pesky girl you have obsessed over.” The possessed creature twirled a finger around her hair. “It’s a shame you have become infatuated with another Hollis woman who will just meet the same fate as her mother.”

            “Don’t talk about her!” Carmilla breathed out a little fire as her voice shook Laura against her. “This whole time, it was you! Will and I fought Nox for you! We tried to redeem and honor you at The Guard! You could have taken care of us after everything we lost and now you took Olivia from me! You took Maddie from me! You took Will too!” The vampire held Laura so tightly against her, the human’s breath caught in her chest. She wasn’t fully cognitive to everything that was going on around her but she could vividly see and hear what was said. “But I won’t let you have her! She is all I have left! All I need to survive and I won’t let you take her away from me!”

            “Dear Carmilla,” The Dean made these slick noises with her mouth. “What makes you think you can even stand a chance against me? All of your life has been nothing but pathetic and you expect to defy your soon to be ruler. You’ve always been mother’s little girl now what gave you such crazy ideas?” The woman was beyond reach, shielded by her guards who were stacked up against them. This little sly laugh emerged from the base of her throat and its hollow filth ruptured through them. Rancor stood next to the woman, pleased overall with the situation at hand. He believed himself so destined for greatness he was more than willing to watch his own son suffer.

            “Love did,” Carmilla spoke more confidently than ever. The vampire slowly got to her feet. Laura’s big brown eyes looked up at her, staring at all the defined and sharp angles that created her face. Death had become so soft in this light. The immortal sprang her scythe from its condensed form behind her back and held it prominently by her side. “You would have to kill me to even lay a finger on her… It doesn’t matter if I’m outgunned, what matters is what we had… have together. It’s something worth fighting for.”

            “So sweet dear… kill them all.” The possessed nymph flicked her wrist out passively.

            “Laura…” Carmilla spoke only so that Laura could hear. The guards tightened the circle and were decreasing the distance too them rapidly as Carmilla held unto her staff so tightly her knuckles turned white. The immortal decided it was time to give in. It was time to let go of her fears and to indulge. It was time to be a monster so she could end this once and for all. Kirsch and Lafontaine waited fearfully for Carmilla to move, but the vampire stood her ground for a moment before looking down at Laura. The human could feel her chest tighten as she stared back into the silver lakes that had become of Carmilla.

            “I love you,” Carmilla whispered as her eyes faded into a complete white. She spun her scythe around her body, ducking to the ground and letting the obsidian and steel spin on her back. The metal generated a ring of fire that spread halted the guards’ movements. Carmilla slammed her palms against the dirt, releasing a fast spreading fire along the ground that incinerated the front line instantly but somehow avoided the people she cared for. The vampire then pulled down her scythe to slice out in front of her that sent another fireball directly at her mother. Heath Rancor stepped in front of the flame, pulling water out of the grass to block the heat.

            Kirsch powered forward, ignoring the blood peaking from his nose and the blistering pain in his head. He scooped Laura into his arms and used the rest of his water to launch them over a building where he tried his best to bring her back to reality. Lafontaine held their axe out defensively in front of them, positioning their back in direct contact with Carmilla. They needed to be this close to make sure that Carmilla wouldn’t kill Perry, only The Dean. The vampire was rushed by two men on either side. She threw her scythe up in the air and popped her arms out to grab their swords. She screamed a bright fire that plowed in front of her as blood seeped from her fingers. Her hands melted metal as her own blade sliced through one of them. With her now free hand she pulled the air out of the man’s lungs and then burned his face before kicking his chest.

            Lafontaine stomped their foot into the earth, sending a small shock wave out in front of them. The ground shifted and the warlock lifted a block of dirt to fling at people rushing them. They held out their weapon, blocking the other’s attacks but they couldn’t keep up. A few of them were strafing into Laf’s space, vicious with their intent to strike the warlock down. One was able to get close but just stopped inches away from their face, with all the veins in his head pulsing into existence. Carmilla Karnstein ceased the electrical impulses in this being’s nervous system before sending it flying against a building. The warlock froze for a moment as Carmilla dove out in front of them then jumping and kicking a wall of fire to burn out the masses. The vampire was going insane, moving erratically to terminate all that dared to attack either of them.

            The building Kirsch hid himself and Laura behind was starting to crumble since the rampant immortal had been flinging bodies into it left and right. He produced enough water to splash against the human’s face, hoping it would be enough to revive her from this daze. The half-elf resorted to shaking her slightly since the former was not producing adequate results.

            “Laura!” His voice boomed loud enough to cause her conscious to stir.

            “She said she loves me…” a small smile lifted her cheeks but her sight was drifting in an out of focus.

            “Okay Laura I get that’s a big deal but focus, we need you. She needs you! And I can’t just leave you here unprotected or else Carmilla might murder me and right now I am terrified of her. Have you seen her lately, she’s five feet of horror.” Laura looked up to the sky that was barren of no birds, and that fact by itself was a damn shame. The human pushed up from her knees and moved around Kirsch to look out onto the battlefield. There were big explosions that looked like a scene out of a movie. Time seemed to slow as she watched Carmilla expertly flip and dive out of the way of an enormous number of projectiles. The vampire cracked skulls, demolished ribcages, burned flesh, and breathed fire. She was moving like nothing could hurt her, like nothing could stop her. Lafontaine did their part, slashing through a large amount of people that led to blood splattering on their entire body. The warlock looked like a butcher and Carmilla a warrior.

            “I love her,” Laura whispered to herself and she meant it to. She loved every part of that woman, especially the morally grey area that was her soul. She was enamored with the way she moved, like water but lighter than air. The human looked at her vampire and momentarily saw a future with her. They could travel the world together, have a lifetime of opportunities, but she had to stop Carmilla’s suffering. The vampire would not be happy caring around that sort of debt on her shoulders and although Laura had seen a brief glimpse of her pain she started to understand why she left. There was still so much they had to talk about, to talk through but first they had to get through this alive.

            “You should probably tell her that later,” Kirsch pulled Laura back behind the building as a stray guard rushed them after spotting Laura. The half-elf punched the man’s inner arm before the guard could land a hit. He folded his hand back to grab the man’s neck to launch into his propelling knee. The man hobbled backwards for a moment before taking out a knife. Kirsch slid across the dirt as the man slashed air and kicked his ankles with enough force to shatter them completely. When the guard toppled over, the half-elf snapped upwards, using his momentum to crush his fist under the opponent’s jaw. Kirsch threw himself forward, hurling several sharp pieces of frozen water at his father. Laura followed suit behind him.

            The remaining two guards ran at Carmilla who easily struck them down in no time. The only people standing now were the vampire, warlock, human, half-elf, Nix, and the possessed woman. There was a moment of silence as the immortal attempted to wipe the blood off her arms. She ended up just throwing down her hood cloak, to reveal a tattered black tank top and her leather pants that were covered in dirt and blood. Lafontaine threw down their axe that had held up throughout the battle and looked over at Perry. They felt the hole in their heart grow exponentially.

            “Perry please, I know you are in there, you have to fight her…” Lafontaine practically begged for a chance to speak to the real nymph. Not this imposter that was holding her body hostage. It seemed like Perry’s body started to vibrate uncontrollably, like mentioning that name made her skin crawl. The warlock knew that somewhere in there, their lover remained. But soon the body erupted in a sinister laughter.

            “Silly, silly, child… she is long gone. It’s strange how much you care for this tepid girl. So shy and bashful she was before I took over, it’s a shame she would never reach her full potential. How pathetic.” Lafontaine shook their head as Kirsch landed by them. Laura ran next to Carmilla, feeling how thick with malice the air had become. The human let her fingertips trace Carmilla’s shoulder, feeling the heat tingle her skin. The vampire quickly looked at her beloved, sharing a knowing glance as her eyes floated back to a rustic silver.

            “You’re wrong!” Lafontaine yelled. “Perry is the greatest creature I have ever known! She is smart, kind, and the best damn healer The Guard has ever seen. She is strong and I believe in her.” The menacing laughter echoed as the being’s eyes filled a to a complete black. The nymph cracked her neck and then her fingers. But something just seemed off about Perry’s body. Like there was some sort of disconnect in the way she moved.

            “Well I guess we must do the hard way then.” The Dean flicked out her wrists and held her arms out in front of her. Under her breath she started muttering incantations in a language Carmilla and Lafontaine recognized.

            “No!” the vampire yelled. Carmilla quickly pushed herself forward, trying so desperately to break her mother’s concentration. She only need a fraction of as second to get her hands on that woman to stop what was about to happen but when she got in close Heath Rancor grabbed her body and flung it backwards. The vampire bounced on the ground and got back up instantly as he mother continued her whispering. Carmilla was flailing her limbs trying to push forward but Rancor became a brick wall to conquer. The Nix placed his hand on the vampire’s chest when her fingertips were inches away from The Dean’s fiery red hair and forced her body down unto the ground. Carmilla was so desperate and not thinking straight that someone of Heath’s caliber was able to pin her down like this.

            The man stood over her as the possessed nymph neared the end of her casting when everyone was frozen solid as the Nix commanded the moisture in the air to condense into a sharp icicle. Carmilla struggled under his heel and moved to shock his ankle but the man had prepared a layer of ice along his skin closest to the vampire. He held his weapon at the base of her throat and then pulled it back over his head. He was going to end the reign of Carmilla Karnstein.

            In one smooth motion, a short sword entered the chest of Heath Rancor. As soon as his heart stopped all the ice he had built up slipped to water and splashed against Carmilla’s torso and neck. The Nix looked at his murderer with wide eyes as his body slumped forward, limp as a noodle. They remained open as he made the last contact with his son before The Dean announced the last words of her incantation. Carmilla only stared at the person standing above her as all of the dead bodies around her jolted awake. The newly crafted vampires rose from the dirt, barring their fresh fangs and inching closer to them. Laura Hollis felt skin grow cold against her as she withdrew the sword from a man’s chest cavity. The body fell flat backwards and the smell of fresh blood caused all the vampires to seize and sprint into them all.

            “What a waste, get them.” The Dean’s words fell to Wilson Kirsch’s deaf ears as he watched his father plummet into the earth. Even though he hated this man with everything he had it was eerie watching the life leave his eyes. It felt like a meteor had crashed into his soul and he didn’t understand why. This was the man he dreamed of killing himself, the man he truly believed did not belong on this earth but yet he felt sorry for him. There must have been some part of his father that was good, some part buried away somewhere that his mother had fallen in love with that Kirsch would now never see.

Laura just stood there, dazed and confused as the vampires closed in. The human just felt unbelievably numb. Carmilla lifted herself off the ground and wrapped her body around Laura’s, enrapturing her lover in heat. Lafontaine believed that this was it. That they would die in this moment and everything they had worked so hard for meant nothing. The only thing they cherished was their time with Perry. They had no strength left in their body and was ready to surrender. They were doomed, until Kirsch dropped his head back and screamed. The noise blowing back trees and sending a massive pulse of energy all around them. All the muscles in his body contracted in that moment as his eyes went a solid white. Every emotion, every feeling that he sprung itself from the darkest parts of him teetered on his edge. The half-elf gave in to all the pain. The fifteen vampires around then suddenly burst into water and dust at the sound of his voice. They had been decimated so shortly after their creation. The remaining of these beings floated in the air as Kirsch finished straining his vocal cords. They spiraled behind him as he looked directly at The Dean and formed his liquid based dragon that could holler as loud as he could.

Carmilla and Lafontaine looked around taking it all in and Laura just let her body be held up by the vampire. The immortal nodded at the warlock hoping that she could communicate what was on her mind to Laf. She proceeded to launch her and Laura up in the air, flight being another skill she had mastered in the course of a month alone. She carried the human off to the side and thankfully Lafontaine followed as fast as they could. Kirsch’s dragon huffed a load of steam out as the half-elf felt the strain warp his mind. It screeched, showing its liquid flowing tongue as the being that occupied Perry’s body produced an odd smile.

“Now this just got interesting.” Her voice was had a scratchy tone and Carmilla had brought herself back in the ring. She looked at Kirsch, knowing how much pain he must be feeling and just nodded. She didn’t have any words that could comfort him.

“Yes mother, it is time you did things yourself.” Kirsch’s dragon released a stream of frost as the humans who were once held captive watched cautiously as these beings destroyed their home. The men, women, and children watched in awe as these godlike creatures fought to protect them and for their own personal gains. This would become legendary, the story told for generations about how two guardsman stood up against an impossible force.

The Dean flipped out of the way of the ice beam but the half-elf was in her space before she could fully readjust. Kirsch smacked out his palm, aiming for the woman’s collarbone but was pushed away. The possessed nymph grabbed the elf’s extended hand and went to crush it but was knocked back a few steps by a surprise wave of water splashing against her. The woman went sailing backwards but was still in control of her body. Carmilla pushed herself into the air and aimed to kick the woman in the stomach but the dean was a lot quicker than expected. The Dean punched upwards into the vampire’s ribs, sending the woman arching into a building. Kirsch’s dragon moved to open its mouth again, this time sending more water up into the air for Kirsch to use.

When the nymph landed against the tree, she pushed off of it instantly as the half-elf converted the liquid to a solid. He sent a barrage of icicles trying to impale the woman but she swiftly danced her way around it. The only success was some subtle ripping of the woman’s clothing. Now that she was on the offense, The Dean shifted slightly, summoning a wall of dirt on her right as the dragon switched back to frost but inched closer to the woman. It seems as though the woman had taken control of the nymph’s abilities that mirrored what Lafontaine could do. Carmilla brushed off the mix of blood and dust but as soon as she refocused she had to dive out of the way of chunks of earth flying her direction. Perry’s body flipped and maneuvered like a martial arts expert as Kirsch stepped it up a notch.

Together they moved so quickly, throwing punches and kicks at such a rapid speed that there was drops of water and pieces of dirt flinging everywhere. Kirsch spun on his heel, aiming his elbow to the back of her head when The Dean ducked down low, trying to sweep the half-elf’s legs from under him. Kirsch felt a cold hand make contact and launched his knee into her face sending her back against her woman made wall. The dragon attempted to snap at the woman but she put her hand up against its beak, blowing chunks of its rock body everywhere. The nymph was distracted for a moment as Carmilla clocked her in the jaw. The wind produced from the vampire’s fist was enough to propel her mother into a nearby building.

Lafontaine and Laura had shown up just in time since Kirsch rushed over to heal his giant beast. The creature squealed for a moment in utter pain as the half-elf pulsed water into it. Once it was healed the dragon took off, flapping its wings and letting Kirsch stand on the apex of its shoulders. Carmilla sparred with her mother for a moment before being knocked backwards almost into Lafontaine but she quickly recovered. Laura forced wind into the nymph’s direction and Lafontaine turned the earth into sludge. Kirsch hit from above, moving water and ice to his central target. They all were attacking in such a way to not fatally harm the body but all wanted to get this over with.

There was a slight opening and Carmilla dove in, striking her palm against the nymph’s shoulder, sending electricity into the muscles to paralyze them. As the vampire moved to slip her arm to her skull the possessed woman dug a knife into the immortal’s side. Carmilla winced in pain, but pressed forward, bringing both of her hands up to Perry’s face and sending an enormous voltage into her system to completely incapacitate her. The nymph’s body slumped over and fell into the dirt as Carmilla was on her knees. She ripped out the knife, her own blood a dark thick slime that congealed to her fingers. The immortal quickly burned her own skin to seal up the wound and screamed violently.

“It’s over,” Laura’s voice had become so small and she was basically operating on auto pilot. The half-elf was still flying around above them, it didn’t at all feel like it was over.

“We still need to get that woman out of Perry’s body,” Lafontaine scurried over to the nymph’s unconscious body, hoping to help her to her feet and bring her home after all this time. But Carmilla had different plans. When the warlock had gotten close they were pushed back by a wall of fire that had manifested on its own, cutting everyone else except for the vampire away from the body.

“What’s the big deal!” Lafontaine screamed. “You promised!” The immortal bent down, feeling a sharp pain in her abdomen and lifted the body unto her back. She turned to everyone with grime smudging her face.

“Change of plans…” Carmilla bent her knees down low and blasted off into the setting sun. Laura saw the hope fly out of Lafontaine eyes as the human snapped back to reality.

“Kirsch, take Laf with you. We can’t let her escape.” The dragon swooped down, kneeling its big head to the warlock as Kirsch helped Laf scale the giant creature. Laura could faintly see Carmilla flying away in the distance and launched herself into the air to follow her trail. The human wasn’t going to let her vampire escape this time. She wasn’t going to leave her alone again, to deal with everything by herself. Carmilla was right, this was something worth fighting for.


	7. Vital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: Hypertonic-rhythm 
> 
> Last chapter will be up next week! I hope you enjoy this chapter and Carmilla Season 3 is starting soon! Who else is hyped? Leave a comment if you want to talk about this fic, I appreciate all the support on it.

            “This is it… How anticlimactic,” Theo Strata looked around the ruins on the grounds of a church older than religion. They had just arrived at the location which was at the end of a large human town and the mouth of a large forest. Over in the brush was a rusty red old pickup truck that was tucked almost completely out of sight.

            “This is supposed to be a sanctuary?” Mel strutted over to fallen debris that was caked in dust.

            “Just follow me,” Danny kicked aside bits of branches and leaves to reveal a spruce door. The werewolf’s long fingers pulled back the trap door and nudged her head directly at the moist steps. As the elf and Diwata neared closer to her she reached in her back pocket to pull out a lighter to lead the way. Together they walked down the poorly light hallways that had some sort of liquid dripping down its walls. The enclosure reeked of death, like the soul of anything that ever dared inside was sucked out.

            “Okay what is this place?” The elf inquired.

            “Sanctuaries are typically locations where warlocks, wizards, or witches have cast a lot of rituals or spells or whatever it is that they do. But the magic kind of sticks to these walls and attracts more magical beings to these locations since you can tap into it. Legend has it the original seven were a band of witches and lured people into the church in order to sacrifice them.” Danny could sense they were getting closer by how stale the air was getting. Her dimly lit lighter wasn’t enough as the space extended in front of them. Thankfully there was an unlit torch on the side that she quickly ignited.

            “Why would they be sacrificed?” Mel couldn’t sense anything natural down here. Everything just seemed so artificial.

            “To appease some sort of God they worship. I don’t know, it all sounds like some sort of mumbo jumbo but this place was destroyed when one of the worshippers got a little power hungry.” The ancient walls started to tremble slightly when she finished talking. The werewolf instinctually held her hands out to stop the others from moving. They were getting close.

            “Do you think it’s still down here?” Theo looked around and was shaking timidly.

            “No idiot, there is not some sort of God down here! At least we will find three bodies and maybe a few animals.” The werewolf had stepped onto a layer of cold cracked brick. The room in front of her had opened up exponentially but was dark and cavernous. The only sound was the burning oxygen as she lowered her torch into a small trough with distilled liquid. Instantly the flame danced along top of the accelerant turning a bright blue and spreading to fill the entire spherical room. They were standing at the start of a bridge that hung over an endless pit and in the room was held up by pillars that were somehow still in incredible shape. The blue cascading fire was a ring around the room with ancient stone architecture and three large body shaped bags in the immediate center.

            “This is so beautiful… it’s a miracle it’s intact.” Mel looked around in awe at the beauty of this place but Danny was transfixed on the bodies in front of her. At least Carmilla had the decency to cover them, she could only imagine how decayed they must be at this point. The werewolf thought about how in this moment a man she loved was lying there lifeless, but how his spirit, the parts of him that made him, him weren’t there. Instead they lived on through Carmilla, through all of them really. But she couldn’t fully face how desperately she wanted him back. How desperately Kirsch wanted him back and how painful it must be for Carmilla too. How these three people were all loved and cherished by the vampire were now dead. Danny wondered if Laura would be enough to fill the void of these lives taken.

            “We should move the bodies,” Theo started to hobble forward when his pointed ears perked up. Danny sensed it too, something was rapidly descending above them. Suddenly the earth cracked open, spitting out a plummeting vampire and possessed nymph. The pair landed with Carmilla’s hand directly on The Dean’s throat and the ceiling of this treasured placed now sporting a giant hole. The woman was covered in dirt and blood. Her hair a matted jungle as the wounds on her skin were still slightly open. The immortal looked up at Danny, Theo, and Mel and for a moment felt nothing in her heart except for the pain of bearing more than she could handle.

            “Carmilla!” There was a sonorous scream as Laura dropped in from the same crevice as her vampire. Carmilla hesitated once she heard the sound but the released her hold on the nymph’s throat. She flipped her own legs out from under her, sending a wave of pressurized air that knocked the human back into Mel and Danny. The two were able to catch the flung human before she could hit the ground. The immortal noticeably heaved, one of her hands patched over a charred part of her skin that oozed out a dark liquid. After a moment, the whole expanded, producing Kirsch and Lafontaine riding bumpily down a water based dragon. The critical creature screeched violently, it’s steel teeth gleaming in the low light. It gracefully landed next to the gang and bowed to let the warlock and half-elf slid off. Kirsch kept a hand on his creature, sharing its burden as Theo looked over at the hybrid fully. He considered himself lucky that he never had to face this petrifying version of Kirsch because he truly would have been demolished in a second.

            “Stay away from me!” Carmilla roared. Her voice was magnified at the base of her throat, sounding like a collection of souls all speaking at once. The ring of fire around her soared in the air, blocking all of them from entering. Lafontaine stood on the edge. They could sense the blue flames desperately trying to burn their skin.

            “You can’t do this by yourself! Please let me help you, please…” Carmilla fell to her knees in the center of the ring and held her head. She visibly shook back and forth, her brain pulsating since all the voices were screaming at once. Her fingers trembled as she pulled back her hair, tears fell from her eyes but incinerated when it hit the stone. Laura took a step closer when sparks started to fly over the ends of the azure flames.

            “Are you crazy Carmilla?! This will kill you!” Danny Lawrence was Carmilla’s newest friend but had years of caring to make up for. They have come all this way for her and refused to go home empty handed. She knew that they couldn’t take anymore death in this make-shift family. Laura took a step forward, her foot almost on the line of fire. She quickly stepped inside, the flames didn’t dare to burn her. She kept her eyes steady on Carmilla, watching her love crumble inside herself. The vampire was whimpering like an injured puppy when she threw her hand out to feel the electricity pulse through Laura’s nervous system. The human was frozen a few feet away from her lover. Kirsch ran forward, trying to get to Laura but the fire threatens to scorch his entire body. He didn’t have enough water left in him to break through. His dragon screeched again, too weak from their fight with the dean to get Carmilla now.

            “Why are you doing this…” Laura’s voice was flat. She still had control of her head slightly. “You’re scared; I can feel it. Let us help you please, we can bring you home and we can find a way to fix this together. Please Carmilla you don’t have to do this alone.” Tears streamed down her face, she had never felt so strongly for someone and so disconnected at the same time.

            “I can’t… Pain… there’s just so much pain. I need…. I need to get this out of me… I need…” The immortal was quickly interrupted.

            “Well I need you Carmilla! And I know you need me! I can’t just sit here and watch you die! I refuse to just let you die!” Laura was screaming so badly she could feel her vocal chords burn in her throat. Carmilla rose to her feet, wiping away all the pent up gunk. She brought out a knife that was sheathed in her back pocket. It was clean of any blood as she slashed it against her own palm, reopening the wounds from less than an hour before. The ooze dripped down her pale flesh and plopped unto the stone. It swirled and moved on its own as she squeezed out more.

            “I’m sorry but they didn’t deserve to die.” She let her blood flow on top of the three bags before her, each drop met with a sizzle as she began to chanting under her breath. It sounded like Latin or maybe Sumerian, either way it was an ancient language. She looked over at Laura for a minute before flinging the human back outside the boundary. She was able to gain control of herself again before crashing into a layer of stone that puffed out into dust. Lafontaine and Danny ran forward but the fire and electric field raged before them, keeping them at bay. The sanctuary was barely intact at this point. It shook with anger at it now turning to ruins and startled a certain woman awake.

            Lola Perry flicked her eyes open as Carmilla crouched in front of her. She looked around cautiously as panic started to fill her brain. She had no memory of what had happened to her, the last thing she could place herself in was leaving Laura’s house over a month ago. The nymph started to squirm underneath the vampire, her cheeks reaching a crimson color.

            “What are you doing? Get off of me Carm!” she reached for the woman’s boot and connected their eyes together for the first time. The vampire had blood splattered everywhere and her eyes were a cold silver. “Wait. What happened?”

            “Perry!” Lafontaine yelled. The nymph’s wild hair floated as she turned to face the source of that sound. She smiled for a moment when she saw her warlock but all that faded when she saw the look on their face. They were terrified.

            “Carmilla what the hell is going on?” Perry demanded.

            “Don’t move,” the vampire bent down and whispered in her ear. “You have been possessed and I will help you in a minute, just focus on not letting her take over. Can you do that?” The nymph nodded but she was absolute stunned at how horrifying Carmilla was. She wanted to run but was frozen by the immortal’s glare.

            “Why are you keeping all of them out?” Perry looked back at Lafontaine who was trying so hard to crack through the barrier. The rest of the gang was trying as well but Carmilla was too powerful for her own good.

            “There’s a chance it will kill me and they don’t want me to take the risk… but I’m going to get you better and fix everything, I promise.” Perry nodded as Carmilla’s grip on her relaxed. In that moment she felt a sharp pain in the center of her forehead and immediately cradled it and screamed. Lafontaine pounced forward, ignoring all the pain of the fire on their legs. Once they heard the nymph scream, nothing else mattered. The warlock slid on the ground, unable to place their hands on Perry since she was practically seizing.

            “What’s happening!” Lafontaine scrambled around the nymph. Carmilla’s eyes bounced back and forth between Perry, Laf, and then the rest of them. She made a snap decision, she would have to take care of Perry first. The vampire sprinted forward, picking up and throwing Lafontaine across the room into Kirsch’s dragon, completely destroying it. The half-elf instantly retaliated as Danny rushed to help the warlock. He prepared and circled over himself a ton of water when Laura placed her hand on his shoulder.

            “Don’t! Look!” She cried pointing over to where Carmilla was currently crouched over a suffering Perry. The immortal wove five of her fingers into the nest of curly red hair and placed her other hand directly over the center of the woman’s chest. She pressed down on both ends and started mumbling something to herself. For a moment, there was nothing but these words filling the space around them. Lafontaine brushed themselves off and stood up just as Perry’s head fell backwards and her body went limp. It took the warlock a second to fully understand what was happening.

            “I can’t believe this…” They whispered. Perry’s mouth shifted open and her eyes closed themselves. “She’s taking in another.” Carmilla’s eyes shifted back to a full white as she looked up at the sky.

            “Another what?” Laura asked, her eyes transfixed on the spectacle before her.

            “Soul…” Just as Lafontaine spoke, there was a high pitched squeak that vibrated everyone’s eardrums. A fountain became Perry’s mouth as a dozen ravens flew out of it and into the air. The sound of them squawking simultaneously was horrendous enough but at their peak flight they dive bombed into Carmilla’s chest. Like ink, they splattered into her as she gasped for air, letting go of the nymph who passed out onto the cold stone floor. The immortal stood still for a moment only looking ahead. Then she began to wobble, unsure of her body as it acted against her. Next came a tremendous pain that originated in the pit of her stomach as her scream ripped through the night. The fire around them diminished in that second leaving them all in the dark. There were moist disgusting sounds coming from one end as the gang got in close enough to be able to see each other.

            Danny Lawrence pulled out her lighter, quickly trying to flick it open. But each failed attempt was met with tiny sparks and no light source produced. She shook the small canister, pleading with an inanimate object before finally it came to life. They could only see directly in front of them as a body slid forward. It was the unconscious nymph who looked cold. Laf fell to their knees immediately and held the woman against them. There were more gruesome sounds in front of them, noises like coal on stone. Laura swore she could hear sniffling to her right but Kirsch heard something else to his left. They were barely comforted by the sounds of them breathing as a flame stretched from one end of the ring directly towards them. The human flexed out, releasing a wind tunnel that forced the flames down into the accelerant trough to reignite the arena. Theo gulped heavily when he looked to his left to see a black oozed creature lower itself to his level. Mel was faced with another directly in front of her. They were surrounded by four of these monsters as Carmilla floated above the three bodies, commanding electricity to spike down from the hole she created.  

            “Laf get Perry out of here!” Danny yelled, face to face with another dragon. But the beasts didn’t move. Instead they blew steam out of their noses as thick servings of black gunk fell from their snouts. Their bodies comprised of broken bits of coal barely held together with two of them sporting a flame in the hollow of their throats. They watched as the warlock slung Perry’s arm above their shoulder and dragged both of them out of there. The dragons were merely acting defensively, not aggressively. A flare of lighting touched down in the center of the ring, reminding Laura of the last time that big of a charged coursed through her. The human felt her heart shrivel in her chest, watching Carmilla become something else completely.

            “I don’t want to do this Carmilla but you leave me no choice,” Laura Hollis blasted into the night sky with a dragon snapping at her heels. She weaved through strikes of electrons before reaching her own apex. Her eyes flooded a solid white as from the air above her something was born out of her power. It blossomed out of the sky and spiraled into the earth before cracking the stone floor with its razor sharp talons. Laura landed right on the side of her great beast, running a hand across its body. The creature screeched so loudly it pushed everyone except its master back a few inches.

            Two of Carmilla’s dragons slid forward, protectively positioned in front of the vampire who was currently working and building a massive current around her body. One took kindly to Kirsch who was currently dragon-less but still felt enough power flowing around his body. The last stared directly at Mel, the two other warriors would have to help her defeat this great beast.

            “You can’t stop this,” the immortal’s voice was thick and deep, it bellowed and bounced off the crumbling walls of the sanctuary. “This has to be done.”

            “No it doesn’t.” Laura slammed her fist into the side of a dragon’s face knocking it off balance. Her biceps pulsated under her skin as she felt the light spread along her entire body. “We can go home and have a life together. You and me, that’s it. You can forget about sisters, brothers, fathers, or even forget about duty. None of that matters! We have suffered enough pain and are due an easy epilogue.” Carmilla lowered herself to stand between the three bodies. A wave of electrons pranced around her fingertips erratically, as if she had no control over it.

            “Of course it matters! Can’t you see what I am doing?! Can’t you see what I’ve become!?” The vampire’s voice shook the massive pillars that supported the cracked ceiling. “I can feel her rustling inside me, tainting already toxic waters. I need to end this once and for all and if I die, so does she!” The mention of death propelled the human forward who was knocked down by the brute that was Carmilla’s dragon. The creature looked at her with a fire building in its iris as the other stomped against stone when a current traced down its back. Laura’s beast launched itself in front of her, using its tail to whip at the other two who could easily take the brunt of the force.

            Everyone else was equally as busy with the other beasts. Danny, Theo, and Mel had their attention demanded by another creature that could breathe fire. It opened its massive mouth as a flame leapt off its tongue and into the elf’s direction. Theo was able to roll out of its reach, just barely as his prosthetic had become a cumbersome clunky heap attached to his body. He drew two knives out of his back holsters before throwing them at his opponent who just flicked it away like it was nothing. The elf was ineffective on his own but thankfully he had two archers to help him out. Mel was completely posed despite all the chaos. The Diwata fired off a ton of arrows within rapid succession of the other. The werewolf positioned herself on the opposite side doing exactly the same thing. Together they must have buried two dozen arrows under the creature’s scales before it turned to Danny and fired the heated plasma directly at her. The werewolf was just grazed by the encounter and as she sprinted alongside the beam. She got in close as the dragon got distracted by an arrow squeezing into its face and jumped onto the oozed over space between its shoulder blades. The beast cried out as Danny stabbed it with her knife and a thicker liquid leaked from the opening.

            The noise the dragon made caught Kirsch’s attention. For a moment, he glanced over to see the beast buck like a bull. The dragon flung its head back and forth and shook its body to rid itself of the werewolf’s presence. The creature to the half-elf’s immediate left saw a window of opportunity and moved to snap at the idle man. Kirsch could feel the minimal amount of liquid on the ground vibrate as the beast rushed him. As the dragon intended to forcefully snap its snout but was deterred by the half-elf grabbing its face with his opposite hand. He crushed the hot coal against his hands, commanding the water based goo out of its nose. Kirsch whipped out his trident with his opposite hand and slid his legs under the beast. He slashed its stomach wide open before tumbling out of its way. The being retaliated, opening its large mouth and poured hurricane level winds attempted to blow him backwards. The half-elf slipped to all fours, trying to keep himself tethered to the earth as he heard Danny fall of the other creature.

            The werewolf lay flat on her back as the fire breathing dragon hovered over her. Danny felt her anger building and tapped into that sensation. The raw emotion ripped through her skin turning it into fur as her bones elongated and snapped into place. It was painful to watch her phase into a wolf but it hurt Danny less and less each time. She howled when she got to her feet and decided to bite down on the beast’s foot. The elf and Diwata neared closer to the dragon as it turned its deteriorated face back to Danny. It was about to release a hell fire of pain at the gnawing wolf when a tri tipped spear entered its mouth after being hurled across the arena.

            Kirsch stuffed his hands into the scales of the dragon’s side and ripped out as much rock and ooze as he could. The beast screamed out in pain that then blended into the boom of Carmilla’s voice. The half-elf used the liquid to decimate the remainder of the dragon as the rest of the gang watched momentarily. The immortal was bleeding heavily out her nose, stationed behind three corpses and screaming incantations into the air. Laura Hollis was moving faster than the eye could follow but somehow Carmilla’s beast had caught up with every move she made. She slashed, dashed, and kicked as hard as she could but barely made any dents in the indestructible creature. Her own dragon was wrestling another next to her. It was an incredible sight watching two titans duke it out. These massive animals biting and clawing each other, blood thirsty enough to end the other’s existence.

            The human was suddenly smacked out of the sky by the electric dragon’s tail. She broke through a layer of stone, allowing a cloud of dust to form around her. The great beast hobbled after her awkwardly, each step a wet yet scrappy sound against the ancient rock. Laura was pinned down under the foot of this creature before she could fully recover from the assault. She squirmed underneath the weight pushing her even farther into the ground when she locked her eyes with Carmilla who was kneeling with her arms stretched above her own head. The dragon looked down at the small human, pitying her, and warming an electrical charge on its tongue.

            “Carmilla!” she screamed. It seemed like her voice was drowned out by the fighting going on around her. Her friends and her dragon battling for their lives as she tried so hard to stop this from happening. “You don’t have to do this, there has to be another way to stop all of your pain! We can get through this Carm because you love me and I love you!” The dragon instantly stopped its advances as though its subconscious was linked to the immortal who halted the spell dead in its tracks. A tremendous amount of power flowed through the vampire all at once and accessing that much was tearing her insides apart. She started bleeding through her ears, matching the already trickling noise. She was too far ahead to stop now, but this was the right thing to do, right? Carmilla looked down at the sheath bodies of three people she loved so dearly she would have given her life for. However, her life had more meaning now, she wasn’t just living it for herself, rather living it to be with Laura. The one woman who always found a way to love her unconditionally no matter what.

In that moment, Carmilla felt mortal and insanely vulnerable as she retreated all of her guard dragons that remained back to her. The disgusting creatures trotted over to their master blindly before succumbing to a stream of muck. Laura Hollis dug her way out of the trench, feeling all her muscles scream with tension. She waved it off but noticed the phantom pain that Kirsch must have been feeling. The half-elf would soon be reaching his limit but she was just getting started.

“Laura I can’t…”

“Yes you can, Carm. Let me help you.” The immortal shook her head. The blood still thick and dark seeped from her openings.

“I have lived a dozen lifetimes and have never met someone so stubborn and naïve enough to believe in me, but I am glad it was you. My life is not any more valuable than theirs. They all died because of me, if I wasn’t here they would still be alive and I can’t bear this anymore.”

“Don’t do this…” Laura pleaded.

“I have to. I have to try.” The human flung her body at Carmilla’s as she slammed her hands against the stone floor. Electricity surged from her palms and tore through the air emitting a purple and white light that shocked the entire room. A wave of energy pulsed when the room was flashed and everyone was knocked back on their asses. The shockwave was so intense that they all couldn’t move until it was over. The gang held on tightly as more rumble and dust fell around them. The room was silent for a moment before the crackling fire roared back to life. Laura was the first to timidly move her head, brushing off mounds of dirt and ash to see nothing moving on the opposite side of the platform and her dragon obliterated. No movement what so ever, just a collapsed vampire in the center of the dead. It didn’t work.

Laura sprang forward, ignoring the chiasm forming in her chest. She slid down to her knees and bent over Carmilla’s lifeless body. She knelt her ear to the space under the woman’s collarbone and her hand on her neck. After a second or two there was a small heartbeat, but it was terribly weak. The air rushed out the human’s body when she felt Kirsch crouch down next to her. The half-elf was back to his normal self as he held the vampire’s head in his hands, feeling the slow current of blood creep in and out of her veins keeping her alive.

“She’s alive Laura! It’s going to be okay!” Laura teary eyes stared at Carmilla and brought the woman’s dirty hands to her lips. Her fingers were stained a deep purple and she looked so awful just lying there like that. The immortal’s lips were a deep red as the dried bits of blood stuck to her face like glue. “We need to move her body!”

“Just give me a minute!” Laura snapped at Kirsch but her anger was misplaced like always. Through the tears she tried to imagine how much pain Carmilla had gone through. She herself had experienced more than her fair share but knew the immortal’s was physical as well. There were giant welts along her body that looked like they had been there for weeks, along with burns and gashes. It looked as though the creature had been through hell and back as she barely breathed on her own. Laura bent down and pulled her lover’s cold body against herself, kissing the pale skin stretched on her forehead. She dug her face into the woman’s neck, just holding her for as long as she could. The moment felt surreal, the hard part was over now. They had gotten Perry back, they could finally lay the bodies to rest, and she had the woman she loved so strongly in her arms. The human adjusted the immortal’s body weight and lifted her onto her shoulder and back. Kirsch went over to help but Laura just waved him off, this was only hers to bare.

Lafontaine brought Perry to her feet. The nymph was still unconscious though as Mel moved to help carry her along. The five of them waited as Laura slowly made her way back to them with Kirsch following a few steps behind. They both looked like they had experience the entirety of a war, like after today they would never be the same. Danny waited for Kirsch to come close enough before springing into his arms. The werewolf through her limbs around him, holding him so tight against herself. The half-elf buried himself into her, feeling so glad to be able to do this again, now that they were safe. They all moved to walk out of the sanctuary, comfortable in their own silence. Theo Strata was the last in the line when his ears perked up.

“Did you hear that?” The elf questioned. He turned back to look at the quiet room with damage plastered all over it.

“It was probably just the foundation cracking.” Mel responded. “This place has taken a lot of heat, it’s a miracle it’s still standing.”

“No, no… it sounded like plastic ripping.” Theo looked back at his teammates before Danny sprinted by him, nearly knocking him over. The werewolf pounced all the way back to the three bodies bags on the ground before hearing the same noise from the one on the far left. She tore it open easily with her claws as the person inside took a massive breath. Danny was stunned as she watched William Karnstein gasp for air. She threw herself on top of him, listening to his strong heart beat as he pushed to sit upright. Their bodies sort of molded together, like wielded metal as the others watched in awe.

Will pulled back opening his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He was still in his tattered dirty and holy clothes as Danny grabbed his face. The warm blood went to his cheeks turning them a rosy color as he mouthed something to the young werewolf. She was far too teary eyed to fully understand what he was trying to communicate but that didn’t matter, feeling his heart beat was the greatest sensation ever imaginable. Kirsch ran backward, crushing the stone with his heavy feet. He felt like he wasn’t going fast enough though as he crashed into them with open arms. Will let them hold him for a moment, savoring the feeling of being alive again but it quickly turned sour. The vampire pushed them away quickly and hurled his body over to the side to empty whatever was in his stomach. He heaved heavily as Danny rubbed his back supportively.

Laura Hollis watched the other two body bags with steady eyes. She was frozen in place, feeling the weight of Carmilla rest on her shoulders. She didn’t know what to do or what to think. Thankfully Theo moved for her. The elf rushed to unhinge the body bags. The first revealing a melanin enriched woman who still slightly reeked of death. He lowered his ears to find a soft beating heart that was picking up pace. Kirsch helped him withdraw Matska Belmonde’s body that remained unconscious as Will crawled over to his sister. The vampire placed his hands on her cheeks, nudging her awake but the former commander needed more time than he did.

Theo looked over at the final body bag not knowing what he should do. Lafontaine could attest to the contents of that plastic being nothing but bones and dirt and that maybe opening it up might only scar Laura further. The human was petrified and had no clue what to do. The only thing she could feel was her heart beating in her chest. The spell had already worked twice when Maddie took her first breath into her new life. Her lungs filled with air as her body jolted forward.

“William,” she breathed out as her brother nodded his head, smiling so big to see his sister again. They intertwined their bodies in a massive hug as Laura trudged over towards them. They didn’t notice her coming until she gently plopped down Carmilla’s unconscious body in front of them. The two vampires surrounded their sister, listening to her heart beat slower and slower. Laura was transfixed on the last bag, making her way towards it before falling to her knees.

“Wait Laura,” Kirsch put his hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do this?”  The human only could nod her head.

“I need to know.” She methodically unzipped the bag and held her breath in the center of her chest. First she saw a pile of dark blonde hair that had not yet been resuscitated. Then the pale skin tightly fitted on her dead mother’s face and cracked lips. She could feel the woman’s heart beating under her fingertips but it looked as though the rest of her body needed to catch up. The human revealed the rest of her mother who was buried in a dress that was now tattered and covered in dirt. Her body soon inflated with air, the color coming back to her surface. Olivia Hollis was breathing on her own but it would take a few minutes for her to come back fully.

“Mom,” she whispered, straining her fingers through honey hair. Olivia looked just like Laura had remembered and had not aged a day. Everyone was drawn in to what was happening next to them as the human lay her head and cried into her mother’s chest. They were hoisted away when the body of Carmilla Karnstein began to seize uncontrollably. Will and Maddie were at her side as her being shook so violently that Laura was torn between who she should be with at this moment. But Carmilla would have wanted the human to be with her mother no matter what.

“Give her some space!” Maddie commanded when Will tried to steady her with his burly arms. The vampire back off hesitantly, wanting to be protective of his sister like he always was. The tremors rattled her body for a moment before lessening in intensity before completely stopping. The vampire croaked and then drew a pattern of shallow breaths before spitting up some fluid that was logged in her throat. Will turned her body to the side allowing her to release it all and they all signed in relief. Laura looked over, vaguely seeing her chest rise and fall on its own but this all felt too good. Everything was going fine, it was like they were missing something.

“You did it Carmilla,” Will signed, making sure her eyes could focus on his hands. The vampire let out an exaggerated breath that soured into a hollow laugh. The noise became ear splitting as the confusion around them grew and masked their faces. Laura watched the expressions phase in Carmilla’s face as the woman focused on her sister.

“Guess again…” The Dean spoke through the body of her daughter before popping up from her back. Everything moved in slow motion, as the old and terrible vampire launched her palm forward, blazing a red hot fire. She aimed her hand directly at Matska Belmonde’s heart. But at the last second a furious Laura Hollis appeared and punched The Dean, using her control of the air to force her backwards as the heated hand narrowly avoided her. The vampire flipped backwards and landed on all fours before standing straight up. Her eyes slipped into an all-black void as her hair moved on its own. She laughed again, her voice a foreign concept to Laura since it wasn’t the Carmilla she knew.

“Everyone leave,” Laura boomed. They all looked around for a moment seeing Olivia’s still unconscious body lying by itself. Matska and Will hurried over to their old friend, hoisting her to her feet noticing the muscle inflate under her skin. Danny and Kirsch remained close by with Laura standing protectively in front. They aimed to join Laf and Perry at the mouth of the bridge as The Dean rushed into Laura’s space. The human ducked under a wild swing from the vampire and swept her legs out from under her. The Dean landed on her back before vaulting upwards and punching a wall of flame at the human. Laura was able to push the fire out of the way with her incredible speed, sending the plasma airborne.

As her friends and family made it to safety she felt like she was back on the roof of her dorm building sparing with Carmilla. But things had changed so drastically in the span of a few months as she was no able to land a series of hits on the body of the woman she loved. Laura forced air in and around her opponent, trying not to critical injure her lover. The Dean was ruthless, trying to use her daughter’s strength to kill Laura but the human was million steps ahead of her. Laura moved with ease, striking hit after hit when the walls finally gave into the impact. Everyone else was stationed at the entrance, watching these two super powers fight it out when large boulders and rock piled down around the sanctuary.

“Laura!” Danny called out. “We need to leave now!” With one swift step the human knocked The Dean unto her back at the edge of the platform. Laura fell to her knees around the woman’s waist as the sanctuary continued to crumble.

“Go! Now!” Danny and Kirsch looked at each other for a moment and then back at Laura. There was no way they would just leave her like that with Carmilla. The human wrestled with the vampire and eventually pinned their tangled arms down. “I’ll get out I promise!” The half-elf and the werewolf had the decision made for them as a massive rock smashed the dainty bridge and another blocked them off entirely. The two turned back to everyone else as led them out, hoping that this wasn’t the end.

They were surrounded by mounting debris as Laura screamed. A vortex of air was produced from her lungs that sent Carmilla’s skin stretching backwards and her hair as well. She was visibly stunned by what was happening as Laura’s breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t die here; this wasn’t the end. She looked down into Carmilla’s eyes that spiraled back into her beautiful brown. The vampire heaved, her chapped lips shaking as she saw the terror in Laura’s eyes. She could feel the darkness prominent in the center of her brain, tearing away her remaining sanity. She shook her head back and forth crying since she was in so much pain.

“Laura… leave me here.” It was a moment of weakness for the vampire but knew it would be for the best.

“NO!” Laura buried her head into the woman’s chest as more pieces of earth fell around them. “I’m not giving up on you! Ever! Do you hear me?! You and I have done far too much to end so soon! I won’t leave here without you!” Laura pressed her lips to Carmilla’s and it tasted like rust. She pulled back for a moment looking into her vampire’s dark chocolate eyes and trimming her fingers through her lover’s wild hair. Laura felt content for that second before imploding from all her pent up emotion and wrapping her hands at the base of Carmilla’s throat until the woman almost turned purple. Finally, the area collapsed around them as the sanctuary tried to swallow them whole.  


	8. Marvel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: hypertonic-rhythm
> 
> This is the last chapter! Enjoy!

Somehow they had made it out alive. The eight people fleeing just in time as the sanctuary had fallen to dust right behind them. The structure folded into itself leaving dust and rubble around its edges while the inner circle collapsed like a sink hole. Lafontaine was the first out of the tunnel, dragging their nymph to the safety of the tree line. Perry was still passed out against them as the warlock huffed bits of stone and ash out of their lungs. They were filthy, they all were covered in dirt and grime that littered and tore through their clothes. Theo and Mel were the next to escape the death trap. The Diwata held the hobbling elf upright since he had a beam split him on his head on the way out. There was no doubt he had a concussion and kept his face close to Mel’s neck. The recently revived and reanimated Will Karnstein and Matska Belmonde carried their dear friend out of the wreckage. Their bodies were frail and weak but adrenaline pushed them away from Death’s clutches. They nearly fell over, legs so strained they were practically jelly. Danny and Kirsch were the last to exit just as the tunnel dared to crush them. They were hunched over, hands holding steady on their knees as they felt their bodies burn from exhaustion. The half-elf almost toppled over, he had used too much power for far too long and it was starting to take its toll. His blood began to boil and his muscles liquefied as his airway closed enough for him to gag. The werewolf looked behind her, searching the destruction for any sign of life.

            “Laura! Carmilla!” Danny yelled. There wasn’t even a whisper of them in the heap of stone, beams, and rotted wood from the church that used to be there. The rest of the gang turned around to aid her search.

            “Mircalla Karnstein! I swear you better be alive after all this bullshit!” Belmonde screamed so loudly it moved some debris. But still for a moment there was nothing.

            “LAURA!” Kirsch’s voice doubled in its normal intensity. It made everyone jump back at how deep and full it was. The half-elf was gasping for air with his chest puffed out as the sound coming from the base of his throat was echoing across the forest. There was nothing but silence after that. They all stood there for a moment feeling only the tremors under the earth as the oasis became gravel. The night was pitch black and hollow as a murder of crows flew above them. Lafontaine looked up at the stars as they held Perry against them.

            Suddenly the earth cracked open, spawning a human torpedo that broke through the surface with such a velocity it created another hole next to the pit. She rose like a phoenix, covered so thickly in muck that her tan skin was barely visible. Slung across her powerful arms she held an incapacitated vampire whose lips and skin under her eyes were violets pressed so tenderly to the night sky. They marveled at Laura Hollis as she hovered, as if she was an angel, as if she had large white wings keeping her in the air. But the way she looked at Carmilla was as if she was the one in awe. Laura glided down to the ground, her clothes tattered and shoes riddled with openings. Her muscles popped keeping the vampire up as her limp body became dead weight. Everyone just stared at the human, in disbelief that she had made it out alive.

            “What are you looking at?” Laura Hollis started walking past them as if she didn’t just ascend from the depths of hell. “We need to get back before Carmilla wakes up.”

            “Why exactly is she passed out?” Danny asked before helping Will and Maddie to their feet.

            “If she’s unconscious then so is The Dean… it buys us some time to deal with all of this.” Laura strutted past Lafontaine and Perry not taking a second to fully look at anyone. She was on a mission, still thinking through a plan since she had no idea how to fix Carmilla. Laura just hoped that her father or the elders would have some answers. If she stopped for a moment, then everything she was repressing would flood in. Her overall anger, Carmilla wanting to be left in that sanctuary to die, the fact that her mother had been dead for over thirteen years and would wake any minute now. She didn’t know what she was going to say, what she was going to do, but she trusted her gut, now more than ever.

            “What if she wakes up? She will before we get back to the Compound.” Maddie was now on her feet, feeling a little lightheaded but Will was close enough to lean against. Kirsch and Danny were holding up the body of Olivia Hollis whose cheeks were getting pink.

            “Then I’ll knock her out again if I have to,” Laura called behind her. The vampire’s beautiful head bobbed against the human’s elbow. Her wild hair floating and gently covering the galaxy of lilac and maroon bruises forming on her neck. Laura twitched for a moment remembering the seconds when they almost reached their demise before. The guilt of her tears clogged her system when she pressed her fingers firmly against the woman she loved until she forced all the air out of her. The forest parted around them all as they hastily made their way back to The Guard. This mission was purely for reconnaissance but they had ignored their orders and followed through with their instincts. It was no doubt they would face some sort of punishment but they brought back a miracle.

            It had taken a full day for them to reach the compound. About halfway there Carmilla had woken up, unfortunately it wasn’t her subconscious present in the forefront. Laura took care of her though and continued to carry her all the way on their journey. Her muscles were screaming so loudly but she pushed on, begging for all of this suffering to end. Perry had fluttered her eyes open shortly after that. Her reunion with Lafontaine was sickly sweet and now that she could walk on her own, Mel could help a struggling Theo who needed a tune up on his metal leg. Kirsch and Danny were ahead of Will and Maddie who the whole time were trying to conjure up a plan to fix their sister. Everything the vampire knew about possession was hear say, nothing concrete about it but there must be a way to destroy the soul after exercising it from the body. There was no way that they could just leave Carmilla like that. Not after everything she had done for them, they were forever in her debt.

            It wasn’t until they had crossed the iron gate that they all felt safe. For the most part they had taken out the source of evil, their opponent was incapacitated but they still were nervous every step they took out of place. There were still supporters of The Dean out there somewhere and if they had encountered them, they would have been weak enough to be beaten. The compound was almost redone entirely, the only construction left were several spaces on the wall. All the buildings looked rebuilt, as if changing commanders had impacted the atmosphere. But from the moment they stepped in, everyone looked at them like they were staring at ghosts. Everyone stood still as stone and one person ran inside the nearest building to retrieve the commander and his council. Markus Hollis and company burst through the doors of the lecture hall and his eyes connected instantly with his daughter. She was almost unrecognizable as she held Carmilla in her arms. Matska Belmonde plowed forward and hugged her best friend so tightly. He looked at her with absolute wonder, the way everyone around her did because they all personally saw her die. His eyes met Will’s next. The vampire was a little sickly but just raised his arm in a wave.

            “Markus…” a voice he had not heard in what felt like a lifetime called his name. His wife still had the small gold ring on her finger as she raised her head to open her eyes for the first time. The Maverick pushed his legs into the earth, sprinting until he could wrap his arms around Olivia Hollis. Tears streamed down his eyes as he could feel the warmth of his wife spread along his body. He gawked, pulling back and showering her in small kisses. The only natural response he knew for this moment. Danny moved over to Laura, nudging her subtly and then taken hold of Carmilla. The human nodded to her tall friend and hesitantly joined her parents who welcomed her with open arms.

            “How is this possible?” Markus muttered, staring at Olivia who had not aged at all. Meanwhile he wore bits of grey with pride but was the same build as his youth.

            “Carmilla… she brought us back,” Olivia’s voice was scratchy and like the rest of them she wasn’t a one hundred percent healthy.

            “How?” He touched Olivia’s face like it was made of porcelain.

            “It’s hard to explain but she needs help Dad…” Ivory Damascus had already made her way over to the weaker operatives. A stretcher surely followed as she exclaimed the bloodshot eyes of Carmilla. The nymph gave Lafontaine a knowing look as Perry and them followed her into the infirmary. Dorian helped the rest of the gang as well since they were all beat up leaving everyone else to just stare at the reunited Hollis family.

            “We will talk later about this later… come on let’s go get you cleaned up.” Markus held her wife’s hand so tenderly as he escorted her into the newly constructed infirmary building. Laura could immediately see all the hustle and bustle going on around there as they hooked the undead up to IVs. They would all be fine but Dr. Damascus wanted to keep them for observation. This would become the first ever documented case of complete reanimation. And the doer of such a miracle was in critical condition. Lafontaine had explained everything to the doctor and Laura told her father all about what had happened. As commander they decided to induce the vampire into a coma. If she wasn’t awake she couldn’t hurt anyone but just to be sure they shackled her to the bed. There was no telling the kind of strength Carmilla still possessed. She could defy the laws of the universe completely on her own, destroyed a magical sanctuary, and was able to take on her mother. She could face anything; she could become a god if she so pleased but Laura hated the silver that strapped her in. It would take them a while to have all of it figured out but Laura already had what she needed sorted. She loves Carmilla and that wouldn’t change, no matter who she was because they had something worth fighting for.

 

* * *

 

 

            “I think that’s enough for now honey,” Olivia Hollis retracted her spear that was currently pointed at her daughter’s chest. The woman wore a flowy brown tank top with her blonde hair in a messy bun. Laura Hollis was swept on her ass embarrassingly by her mother who was a hell of a lot faster than her even now not to mention the human was gravely distracted. They had taken the afternoon to spare and train under the hot sun next to a man-made pond. Kirsch, Danny, and Will all relaxed next to the water as if the past week had never happened. They were the only ones fully taking time off but they deserved every second they had together. The half-elf played with the water lazily as Danny ran her fingers through his hair. He had contemplated cutting it short again but Will said he liked the extra hair, especially the beard. The three of them were happy and that was all that matters.

            “Yeah you’re right… Carmilla should be out soon and I-,” Laura was cut off by her mother.

            “Need to speak with her before the trial. I understand,” Olivia could practically read her daughter’s mind. “You two have a lot to talk about and work through.” Mrs. Hollis joined Laura on the ground. Laura had been consumed with all things Carmilla that passed week. Currently the vampire was undergoing some classified treatment for everything that happened to her. It had been going on for days and all the people involved were sworn to secrecy about it. Laura didn’t have a chance to speak with her vampire this whole time and was dying to talk about everything. But unfortunately Carmilla would have a trial for all the crimes committed during her hiatus which would be held first thing the next morning. Laura thought now would be the best time to finally have their conversation, especially since the vampire could very much be cast out of The Guard for the rest of her existence.

            “Can I ask you something?” Laura gazed at the sun start to set.

            “Of course.”

            “When did you know for sure that you loved Dad?” The question wasn’t out of the ordinary for Laura since she been asking her mother all these small questions she had built up over the years. Her daughter had a lot of curiosity but more of a hunger to fully understand her mother in her adult life. Olivia took a deep breath and watched her daughter fumble with her fingers.

            “There wasn’t one really defining moment for me, more like a collection of them. But love is experienced differently for everyone, so maybe your father had that spark that just confirmed everything. All I know is that even now when I look at him, I feel complete, like nothing else really matters and that whatever we are doing as long as we have each other we can be happy.”

            “Even now with the grey hair and everything?”

            “I like the hair,” Olivia chuckled. “Love isn’t about appearances though sweetie… it’s a feeling and also a decision. You will always feel love in your heart but you decide to act on it. You decide to act on it and when things get bad or rough we still decide whether or not we can work through it, whether the love we feel is worth it. I love your father no matter the fact that he is the commander or that he is practically an old man now. And I know that you still love Carmilla, despite everything.” It was the way Laura looked at the vampire that really set it off. Carmilla was her world and Olivia and Markus were present for the moments where she watched the immortal breathe steadily in her hospital bed.

            “I just don’t know what to do if she gets exiled tomorrow. I don’t want to leave this place; I mean no matter what happened in the past I was supposed to be here. And now I have these powers and responsibilities that make it like I can’t leave.”

            “There is nothing that you can’t do. Laura you can fly and have taken on much more than your father had at his age. Fate has brought you incredible things that you can turn your back on if you want but I don’t think Carmilla would let you.” Olivia briefly remembered the time when she and Markus were going to give up their line of dangerous work for a chance at a normal life. Carmilla supported them but knew it wouldn’t change who they were. Olivia realized it now, Markus belonged here, as a leader, this was the best thing for him. She wished Carmilla had talked some sense into them, it could have changed everything. She realized that the vampire would let them do anything and only step out of their way if they were happy.

            “Go talk to her honey… it’s the best thing for all of this.” Olivia stood up and offered her hand to her daughter. The human took and then looked back at her friends, wishing that she could be that happy again.

            “Thank you Mom,” Laura whispered when she pulled her mother into a hug. The older woman nodded before going off to find Markus. Laura trotted over to the infirmary, knowing that Carmilla would be resting there. Lafontaine and Perry had been surrounded in work and each other. Laura didn’t know when was the last time they even left the infirmary but was glad to see them both happy. There were some slight side effects to the possession and reanimation magic but Lafontaine and Ivory were working to combat it. Because mostly everything was uncertain they had to monitor everyone closely. Matska Belmonde was walking back into the infirmary when she spotted Laura Hollis.

            “She’s on the roof,” the former commander stated simply. Laura furrowed her eyebrows not completely understanding what Maddie was talking about. “I convinced the board to take off the restraints and she said she wanted to watch the sun set. Go darling, before it’s too late.” The human looked up at the sky and then spotted two legs dangling over the edge. She cleanly pushed off the earth, soaring to her apex and hovering for a moment as the vampire shielded her eyes from the setting sun. Laura landed next to Carmilla and copied her posture, letting her legs fall against the newly carved stone. They were quiet for a moment until the human dared to look at Carmilla’s face. The vampire’s cheeks were rosy and it looked as if life was finally brought back to her dark chocolate eyes but something in her had disappeared. It all had taken such a toll on Carmilla, on their relationship, on everybody.

            “Hey,” Laura almost kicked herself for being so simple, but Carmilla lightly smiled.

            “Hey,” Carmilla allowed her walls to crumble. This was Laura she was talking to, the woman she loved and cherished so dearly but had made a lot of mistakes. She had a lot to answer for and even more to apologize for. The immortal’s hand crept its way over to Laura’s, slowly intertwining their fingers. “Laura I’m-,”

            “You don’t have to apologize, there are a lot of things we both did that weren’t us…” Laura looked down, finding solace in their hands. She could sense her muscles trembling just because of the proximity. She had spent so long wishing for this moment, hoping for a time that she could be with Carmilla again. And now that she had it she was stuck in no man’s land because the life that beautifully blossomed in her vampire that would brood and be sarcastic was barely at the surface. Instead they had a lot of work to do to get back to that point. It was like the being had been pushed back in her for so long that it had vacated completely. She spaced out often remembering all the pain and the gravity of her sins.

            “I want to talk about this though, I know that I’m not good with the whole feelings things but I think it’s better we just face it. But-,” the immortal was cut off again.

            “But it’s hard.”

            “Laura please just let me talk…” her voice was a soft whisper when it easily could have been full of rage. She was being gentle, like she feared the power inside of her that edged inside her. But in truth she was beyond exhausted. Her treatment made her skin burn and wreaked havoc on her insides. Which would have given her even more of a reason to be angry but she had spent so long being angry. The human nodded and retracted into herself. “I did and thought about doing horrible things, terrible things that I didn’t even do in my infancy as a vampire. It was like every moment of my existence was utter suffering as voice of Death, of pain, of hunger just polluted my mind. I didn’t sleep, I didn’t feed, I felt like my world was empty because I had repressed everything that I loved. I’m sorry for forcing myself to ignore how much you matter to me and how much you care. I just wanted it to end and when it didn’t, I just wanted it more.” Laura had decided to run her free hand through the wild nest of hair sprinkling down Carmilla’s head. The human kept showing small bits of support to her vampire, letting her continue.

            “I’m just tired, so tired of this craziness… I want to fix us, I want to be better, do better by you. Laura I want you, more than anything in this world and I am so sorry for everything I’ve done to you and our friends…” There was a moment that she was silent, choking back a waterfall of tears. Laura just wanted to leap forward and hold her lover so tightly.

            “I was so angry at you,” the human scoffed off to watch the sky spin into reds and orange blankets. “Every second of my training with Dorian and my father I focused on how pissed I was that you just left. I didn’t understand why you just abandoned us, left me when I did nothing wrong. But I didn’t understand how you had almost everything you cared for stripped away from you and losing your best friend and everything else just made you crazy. I was angry at you all the way here, after seeing what happened to Vordenburg and the elves, even until I got to my house to see the man you kept prisoner. But the moment I saw you I remembered what being in the same space as you does to me. I was angry because it was hard for me to care so much about you when I wasn’t sure you did for me. I was scared, like you were, but terrified that when I found you, you wouldn’t want to come back. But you did, you just had to do something first. Seeing you hit me so hard I don’t think I’ve fully recovered. Being close to you makes me want you even more and I can’t do this without you. I-,” Carmilla pushed herself forward and gently placed her lips on Laura’s. Her mouth morphed into her human’s, tasting the embers of their burning love. Laura reached up and cupped the immortal’s jaw that was crafted by some god somewhere who loved to watch her drool over it. The vampire pressed against Laura, turning her lips a tad harder but the human enjoyed the little bit of aggression. It was a slightly salty kiss that mixed in from their tears.

            “I love you too…” Carmilla whispered. “This has been hard for you, I know that. But keep going. We need to get everything out there, please Laura.” The human shook her head, it hurt so much. All the pain she buried so deep for appearances, to get by, to be here for the woman she loved. There were things that she never brought up, but she knew were spoken about in hushed whispers behind her back. Everyone watched her so cautiously, like she was some fragile doll ready to break under the pressure and pain. No acknowledgment of what she had done that plagued her very soul. She sobbed openly in front of the woman who loved her unconditionally.

            “I wanted to help you, I wanted to be there for you and you just shut me out! I was terrified that you were dying and that doing that much magic alone would kill you! I thought I was going to lose you but instead I just lost myself…” she was crying so hard that she needed to get away. She detached herself from Carmilla and bounced up to the concrete of the roof. She forced her hair backwards. The vampire joined her on her feet. “I killed Heath! I shoved my sword into his chest and just stood there as he took his last breath! I felt his heart stop against my hand now everyone just looks at me like I’m a murder! Like they all know what I did! I just saw him standing over you! Wanting to kill you and I don’t know I just had to! I didn’t care, it didn’t matter, I couldn’t just let him steal you away from me! Nothing mattered to me the only thing I wanted was you!” Carmilla slowly enveloped a shaking Laura Hollis into her arms. Rubbing her from her arms to her hair, to try and sympathize and share just how much she cared. Carmilla would and has killed for Laura and would do it again. But she never would she ever predicted the small human would do the same for her. The vampire pressed her body closer to Laura’s hoping it would comfort her further.

            “It’s okay… it’s okay…” Carmilla traced the edges of her face. The human was clinging to her shirt for dear life. “You saved my life Laura… that has to mean something right.”

            “Of course it does… I worked so hard to save everyone. You, Perry, what was left of my sanity and when the moment came. When he looked down at you ready to kill you… I didn’t care… I just wanted to save you…”

            “And you did, twice actually,” Carmilla thought about their moment in the crumbling sanctuary. “Who would have thought that I would be the damsel in distress and you my knight in shining armor.” The vampire received a light chuckle from the failing Laura Hollis.

            “To be fair we are both equally damsels and knights… warriors who love watching the stars and the setting sun.” She tried to smile but felt far to strained. “Maybe we can both be each other’s heroes.”

            “I like the sound of that,” Carmilla lightly kissed Laura. Their lips a sweet mess of passion and intimacy. It was enough to stop all of tears but it didn’t end everything that backed up their system.

            “What are we going to do?” Laura peeled her lips of Carmilla’s.

            “I was thinking we head to bed, it’s been a long day.”

            “No I mean about tomorrow… what if you get exiled from The Guard. What are you going to do? What are we going to do?”

            “If they decide to can me… I don’t know. I’ll follow you anywhere but this place needs you Laura. I mean the people here will associate your name with greatness. Your father is Commander and you are stronger than he is. They may even call you the mini maverick who knows. What I’m trying to say is, if I have to leave this place, don’t follow me. You and Kirsch are going to impact this place for the better and I won’t take you away from that.”

            “My mom knew you would say something like that.” Laura let go of Carmilla’s body, taking up her own space to breath fully. Everything was about to fall off. The human didn’t want tomorrow to be the deciding factor but if she could only rarely see Carmilla then the whole search was for nothing. She had finally got her love back in her arms and now she would be forced out again. “If you leave then we can’t… I can’t… I just-.”

            “I know…,” Carmilla let the human pace back and forth as the sun spiraled into purples and blues.  “But we are just talking about what ifs. There are a million things that are uncertain in this world and a million more that do not matter. The only thing that I am certain of is that I have never thought that I could love someone. Then I met you and god I’m sorry but no matter what happens you’re stuck with me.” Laura walked back into her vampire’s arm. The immortal ran her arms up and down her human’s back. Laura tilted her forehead to touch Carmilla’s. “We will work this out, don’t worry, I promise. Besides I kind of have a plan.”

            “I love you,” Laura whispered.

            “I know,” she grinned sarcastically, a mirror of her old self coming to life. Laura smack her arm that let out a small giggle. Maybe everything would be alright, just maybe.

           

* * *

 

 

            “Mircalla Karnstein. Born in 1680 but rebirthed as a vampire in year 1698. We are here to discuss your crimes against the realm.” The high council gathered around a newly constructed lecture hall and faced Carmilla and a crowd of students. In the center of the council sat Commander Hollis, followed by a line of elders at both sides. The first row behind the stoic vampire was all of her supporters. Lafontaine and Perry had Carmilla to thank for their bountiful relationship. Kirsch, Danny, and Will were happy together and that was the greatest gift Carmilla could have given them. Matska Belmonde had her life back and Laura had her mother back. There was no need to prosecute this level of happiness.

            “Let me have it then,” the immortal crossed her arms already annoyed by this. The looks the ancient beings were giving her made her skin crawl. She had this tick in her mind since not all of her mother’s presence was gone, but instead festered like a fading memory.

            “First case, the execution of the Baron Vordenburg, a former professor,” a wrinkled old man whose skin was greying and covered in spots talked first. He shuffled through several papers. “It seems with that you mutilated hundreds of elves along the way and kept them chained in our dungeons to watch the body of their leader decay with his heads presented on a spike.”

            “Well when you say it like that it sounds bad,” Carmilla smirked slightly. It was a defensive mechanism at this point but Laura thought it was in poor taste. This was serious.

            “It was bad Carmilla. But…,” Markus Hollis began. “You single handedly recaptured the compound with only one causality. Which is something that would be impossible if we had retaken the grounds ourselves. Our lowest estimation would be a dozen on both sides, so I am grateful that you spared our students on your bold personal vengeance filled crusade.”

            “Also let the record show that you did provide some basic first aid to these people and fed them. Although you did hold these people captive, it’s prominent you did not intend to kill them. To be fair, The Commander has made it clear that you have done our job a lot better than we have and if we had caught Vordenburg he would have been executed anyways for his crimes of treason.” Another council member spoke up. “I vote void of this charge.”  Four out of the other five agreed to throw out that count.

            “Thank god…” Laura whispered.

            “That was the smallest one dear, we still have a few more to go,” Matska Belmonde sat to the right of the human and her mother.

            “Next count, trespassing and holding a vampiric operative captive for over a week… I mean do you have anything to say about this one?” Markus cracked a few knuckles as he rested his fingers under his chin. He reclined back in his chair, letting his life-long friend speak for herself.

            “Yeah I got nothing,” she threw her hands up awkwardly. After a moment she spoke her truth. “I needed to find the grave plot of Olivia Hollis and there were several of my mother’s minions lurking around the premises. I’m aware that a couple of these creatures were stationed to watch here. Now I imagine what you did to that vampire my lovely girlfriend caught is classified like a lot of things going on around here. But it probably is a lot worse than tie him up and feed him blood when he was hungry. All he had to do was relay a message so that your squadron could come and find me and another guardsman who had abandoned their post as well. If anything I did quite a service to this establishment.” The vampire tapped her fingertips on the hardwood. A few of the elders gawked as a slight murmur spread amongst all the students in the crowd.

            “Now who do you think you are?” A rather conservative elder gunning for the vampire spoke defiantly.

            “You know exactly who I am… the things that I have done are not worthy of banishment since you cannot prove that I acted against the guard.” Carmilla was pushing them and getting agitated. Laura was kind of relieved, this was just proof she was acting like her old self.

            “Alright let’s just get into the bulk of this then,” Markus breathed and shook his head like a disappointed father. “The alias The Dean had taken over a human community and you and a few others decided to fight her and ultimately did defeat her and her henchman but you destroyed a village. We cannot just ignore all this collateral damage that occurred. In the course of twelve hours you decimated a couple thousand-year-old sanctuary and a nearby town.”

            “With all due respect, no humans were killed in either altercations. The guardsman and I acted to save all those people from my mother’s clutches and eliminated all threats to the population of humans on the ground. Sure I did not wrap it nice and pretty like you all would have hoped but one of our greatest enemies is dead. I understand that humans do not appreciate us but our precious human Commander should be able to mediate this. But I guess, if you need someone to blame for the destruction go ahead blame it on me,” Camilla was speaking confidently. She was protecting the rest of them, since there was no way this was just her doing. The council just needed someone to blame for the mess that they had all created to make amends. It was beyond not fair that they were only putting Carmilla on trial when she had killed only one man because of what he did to her sister. It wasn’t right but Olivia placed her hand on top of her daughter’s, trying to steady her agitation.

            “Anything else before we put this to a vote?” an elder asked.

            “No comment,” the vampire scoffed it off. Laura was building a rage in her seat and finally boiled to a point.

            “Wait!” Laura stood up and all the eyes were focused on her.

            “Cupcake, you don’t have to-,” The small honey haired human shushed her out.

            “You have only talked about all the bad things that happened that she was present for! She wasn’t alone in doing all of this! And yet you ignore the amazing things that she has done for all of us!”

            “Listen little girl I don’t care who you are-,” the conservative elder sass session was cut off.

            “Oh shut up!” Both Carmilla and Markus spoke out against the council member. Laura nodded before continuing.

            “This wasn’t her fault! She had three other souls stuffed into her body that pretty much turned her into an unstoppable god! These things were just forced upon her and imagine how easy it would have been to submit to the pain and hate the earth and do horrible things but she didn’t! She didn’t kill everything! She didn’t destroy us, if anything her revenge helped all of us! She took out someone who was plotting the end of days without destroying the body she resided in! For God’s sake she brought three people back to life! That’s something that has never been successfully done before and you want to exile her for saving the day! She almost sacrificed herself to do this and you want to throw her out! That’s bullshit and you know it!” The little human fumed and the entire room was silent. “You put her on trial but you don’t even question the rest of us! I was there dammit! I killed The Dean’s right hand man in cold blood but it’s just a side-effect of this job right?! Right?!” Kirsch stood up from his chair to join in. He knew that Laura was right and that this was the right thing to do. Carmilla had done so much for him and now was the time to return to favor.

            “I killed fourteen men and woman that were turned against their will to be vampires. They were working for The Dean but you won’t try me for war crimes. I helped destroy that village, I helped destroy that sanctuary to save my friend. And you want to banish her when she brought back your former Commander, one of your best assets, and probably your best guardsman in training. Carmilla Karnstein has saved all of our lives here, not once but twice! If you banish her, I’m leaving as well.” There was a gasp in air as Danny and Will stood up with him.

            “If you kick her out, it just proves how immoral this place actually is. We don’t want to be a part of that.” The werewolf spoke proudly for everyone else to listen. Next Lafontaine, Perry, Ivory, and Dorian stood up with them, showing their support.

            “Sorry Markus but if you are willing to lose her then you will lose your best healers, researcher, and leader,” The Renegade looked over at the crowd behind him and nodded. One by one packs and packs of students joined the movement. All of them knowing how powerful of a player Carmilla was and that they needed her to be here. Soon, everyone in the room was on their feet. Warriors, healers, researchers, forgers, trainers, and professors all taking a stand. The entirety of the guard was for once standing with Carmilla Karnstein. The vampire looked around and smiled at all the people. She felt good as her eyes connected with Laura’s and the small human wanted to kiss her so badly.

            “You know I don’t even think we need to take a vote,” Markus just shrugged. There was no way that he would vote against Carmilla anyways. She brought back his wife and he was already forever in his debt anyways.

            “But Commander-,” someone intervened.

            “But nothing, I’m not about to lose all my students. Carmilla Karnstein all the charges against you are dropped. I’ll be seeing you for dinner tonight.” The room erupted into applause and Carmilla threw herself into Laura. This was it, this was the happiest she had ever been in her life. This was what a month of torture lead up to and it felt worth it. All of the noise around them was drowned out the moment their lips met. This was just the start to their relationship, to their forever and they weren’t going to ruin what they had. The immortal would love Laura Hollis for every day of her life and a thousand more. Laura held her vampire in her arms, knowing that she would have her for the rest of her life and that nothing could ever get in the way of what they have. Not even life itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I was thinking of maybe during season 3 of doing one-shots in this universe. Is that something that you would like to see? And what stories should I touch on? Leave a comment or message me on tumblr and I'll get on it.


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